Tails's Luck
by SkullFox
Summary: My first story of the Sonic series. Tails meets a vixen who turns out to be the girl of his dreams. Thanks for seeing this through to the end all.
1. Almost

**AN: (Okay fist off I'm not used to doing these types of fics so...have mercy with the reviews K. Also the later chapters may get a bit graphic so; if you are easily offended or insulted DON'T READ.)**

Chapter 1: Almost

Tails yawned and stretched his arms, "Son of a bitch!" He screamed out as his hammock flipped him onto the floor with a painful thud. His golden fur was messed from his constant tossing in his sleep, matching the white patch on his chest perfectly. The fall to his face wouldn't have hurt so much, had he not been having a rather arousing dream moments before he woke. He'd grown a bit taller over the years, he was now 17, nearly taller than Sonic. Since Sonic and Sally had gotten engaged the two were living together and Tails was left to himself, he was actually beginning to enjoy the solitude, Sonic was his idol but not the best roommate on Mobius. Being he had so much alone time the young vulpine found time to take some advise from his friend Knuckles and start working out more often; the results were obviously clear to anyone who knew him, his chest and abs had become very well defined, and his arms had developed into rather powerful tools as well, which helped a great deal when he was working on some project or other in his lab...

His first stop of the morning was the average person's trip to the bathroom; he fixed his fur, and brushed his teeth, and after his morning shower headed back into his room to get dressed for the day. All he could think of to wear was a gray sleeveless hoodie and a pair of slightly baggy blue jeans, a wallet chain hung down the side of his leg, and as it was a bit bright outside he put on the black visor shades that Sonic had given him for his last birthday. He looked at his clock on the way out the door, it was 9:30 and he was supposed to meet Sonic for breakfast at his place not too far away. Not wanting to bother with a vehicle he simply flew, and a few minutes later landed in front of Sally's place which was a nice little white house, the blue hedgehog standing outside the house was wearing a black tank top and a pair of black jeans, with his arms folded across his chest tapping his foot impatiently on the ground.

Tails landed and took a very ginger step and his crotch was still sore from his fall, "Sorry I'm late."

"Heh...forget it lets go." Sonic said patting his partner on the shoulder on the way out.

"Hey. Where are we going?" Tails asked following behind him.

"Sal couldn't stay for breakfast so you and I are goin' out instead."

"Really where'd she go?"

"She's with Amy doing the whole bridal thing." Sonic answered, "But that doesn't matter right now cause I'm taking you to my favorite restaurant."

Tails stopped for a moment, "Hang on...isn't that a strip joint?"

Sonic laughed out loud, "I don't know where you get these ideas...just because the waitresses have huge racks doesn't make it a strip club. Hell if it were I doubt Sally would've come there for lunch before."

That surprised the hell out of Tails, never in his wildest dreams did he think that Sally would step a single toe into a restaurant called Hooters. They were in town and still walking though it was a bit tough keeping up with Sonic even at a walking pace. It didn't take too long for them to find their destination but the fox was a bit hesitant...

"Uh...Sonic..." He said as he stopped across the street from the place, "...am I old enough to go in there?"

"Don't worry about it little bro...it just so happens that the owner of this fine place is an old friend of mine."

Feeling a bit reassured Tails followed Sonic inside where they were met by a very attractive waitress that Tails nearly mistook for Sally, until he noticed how far out her chest protruded under her shirt, he was having a little trouble not staring until he realized something. Off in the distance was another waitress wearing the normal gear for the waitresses, a pair of low cut shorts and a rather tight fitting t-shirt with the company logo across her very amply tits, had she an extra tail and hair that didn't reach to her shoulders she'd have been close to Tails's double, just a vixen instead. It didn't take long for Sonic to notice that he was staring at the girl and leaned in toward the Sally double, Tails managed to break his trance in time to notice the mischievous blue hero whispering something to their host...

She smiled brightly as she looked to Tails then back to Sonic, "Will do Sonic."

She led them to a table and as they sat down Sonic looked up to her, "By the way have you made up your mind about what Sally asked you?"

"Well yes. I cleared out my schedule, I'll be there for the wedding." She said, "But that's besides the point...Why haven't you introduced me to your cute little friend yet?" She asked as she turned to the now red faced fox, she giggled as she saw this, "Kinda bashful isn't he?"

"Oh Gwen this is Miles, he prefers to be called Tails though."

Tails held up his hand keeping his gaze on the table, "Hi..." His voice squeaked.

"What's the matter cutie?" She asked setting her hand on her cheek, "Am I that hard to look at?" She asked pretending to be a bit hurt.

"I-I...no I didn't mean anything by it..."Tails stuttered as he looked her in the face, "...I-I-I...I..."

"He gets a little tongue tied around pretty girls." Sonic interrupted.

"Well you don't need to be like that with me Tails...I don't bite," She said with a devious smile as she gnashed her teeth together, "Unless you want me too."

Her statements made Tails smile, "Well my job here's done then now that I've seen such a cute smile...someone'll be around to get your orders in a few."

000

The two sat there for a few minutes Tails with his face hidden behind a menu, Sonic noticed that his friend's deep blue eyes were fixed tightly on the menu...

"So...what'cha think of the place?"

Tails sat down his menu, "I...I think I just did something involuntary."

Sonic had a laugh as he realized what the fox had meant, and after a few minutes Sonic was happy that Tails had begun to settle down. He was actually enjoying himself which was what Sonic wanted in the first place after all he had a reason for bringing the young vulpine here...and that reason was on it's way to the table. As the waitress stepped up to their table Tails went dead silent and froze up, it was the vixen he'd been staring at earlier, as he looked at her through the corner of his eye he noticed that her tail was tied near it's base with a red ribbon...

"Hey there Sonic...you haven't been in a whole lot recently." She said cheerfully.

"Yeah there's been a lot of things to get done for the wedding..." Sonic said, "...did you get your invitation?"

The gold furred vixen smiled, "Yes I did..." She said leaning over the table close to Sonic, "Hey who's the cute fox you brought in with you?" She whispered.

"Oh shit...Kara this is Miles, everyone calls him Tails." Sonic said as she turned to face the shy vulpine, "Tails this is Kara...she just started working here a month ago. She just moved to the area."

"Miles...that's a cute name..." Kara tried to make eye contact with him but Tails kept his eyes adverted, "...is it okay if I call you Miles?"

"Y-y-y-yeah...i-it's fine..." Tails said turning his flushed red again.

"Awww...you are just too cute..." She teased him a bit, "...well do you guys have anything in mind to order?"

Just then Sonic's cell started to ring, " Talk to me..." Sonic said as he answered, "...Oh hey Sal. What's up? What? Yeah no, no don't worry about it...I'll be right there...right bye."

"What's up Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Sally's just having some trouble in the shopping district...Kara you know my order, Tails take it with you when you're done here Sal and I'll be over for dinner later."

Sonic was out the door and gone in a heartbeat and Tails was left alone with the gorgeous vixen, after a bit Tails was able to look at her. Her eyes were a much lighter blue than his, and he was finding it hard to pull his gaze away from her eyes but this time it was her turn to be embarrassed, as she pulled her head to one side her fur shone a red glint...

"A-are...you ready to order?" She asked.

"Umm...any suggestions I've never really been here before."

"Well I've never actually tried the food here...I was pretty much just hired because of my figure..." She said blushing a bit with Tails, "...but I hear that the hot wings here are the best."

"Hmmm...Why not? I like spicy food...but if that's the case I'll have a few root beers too."

Tails couldn't help but watch her tail swaying to her movements as she walked away. **Stop staring you fuck'n asshole!**His conscience shouted to him. **I can't help it she's so beautiful...I gotta talk to her when she comes back**He shouted back in his own head. The thought repeated over and over in his head until...sure enough she came back to his table carrying a tray with a plate of hot wings and several root beers. Unfortunately before he could say anything she set down his things and headed back into the kitchen...now he was paranoid.

**See what your staring did dumbfuck?** His conscience shouted. **You scared her off.**

He sat there for roughly an hour not really eating any of his food, just using one of the wings on his plate to push the others around...

"You know I hear it's a lot better when you just eat 'em." A sweet voice said from beside him.

Tails lifted his head to notice that it was Kara but, she was now dressed in a high, tight fitting tank top, and a pair of tight blue jeans, she still however wore the same smile, "Mind if I sit here...Miles?"

**My apologies...** His conscience said. **I don't know what you're doing but keep it up.**

"No...please." Tails replied not realizing he was spacing out for a moment. "I was actually...k-kinda hoping...we could...um...talk some more anyhow."

"Me too actually..." She replied giggling a bit at his now red face, "...you see Sonic said that you have some opened space in your place now that he lives with Sally."

"Yeah...I've been using his old room for storage at the time. Why would he bring that up?"

Kara blushed and looked to the table, "Well...I've been...having some trouble finding a place to stay...and...I was wondering if..."

Tails's eye grew to an unusual size, "Wait a sec...you...my roommate?" He asked playing out several possible outcomes in his head.

"I didn't really think it was a good idea either..." Kara said, "...look forget I even brought it up okay..."

She started out the door and was a small ways down the sidewalk before Tails grabbed her hand, "Wait...the room's yours if you want it. I own the place so you won't need to pay anything...I kinda miss having another person around the house."

Kara froze up for a moment but then threw her arms around the vulpine's neck, "Miles thank you! Sonic and Sally told me you'd say yes!"

_**See now I don't know whether to kill Sonic or thank him**_ Tails didn't really care for the idea of letting her go but to his displeasure she broke away from him, "So do you have a ride or something?" Tails asked.

"Not really why? Do you?"

Tails smiled devilishly, "Sort of but...I kinda need to know how much you weigh."

Kara put her hands on her hip trying to figure out his point, "164...okay." Tails developed a rather devious grin as he stepped toward her, "Miles...what are you doing? Miles no!"

She shrieked as he lifted her into his arms and took off into the sky, because of her extra weight he ascended more slowly, but soon the two were high above the buildings. Kara who was now wrapped around Tails's neck had her eyes shut tight, but when she felt the cold air rushing past her fur she opened them. She almost panicked when she saw how high up they were but for some reason it hit her that she could trust Tails...

"Miles, this is amazing. How are you doing this?"

"You know I've never really questioned it. I was able to do it when Sonic adopted me...I was only four. The older I got the longer I was able to stay airborne, eventually I was able to carry extra weight with me. The stronger I got the more weight I could keep airborne. I just guess that it's something a two tailed fox can do."

"How long can you keep this up?" She asked shielding her eyes from the stinging wind.

"With your extra weight?...Maybe an hour, or a little less." Tails replied as it started to rain, "That's the place down there."

Kara looked down toward a cliff side on the outskirts of town where a small two story house stood, a small runway led off the cliff, and the area was surrounded by palm trees and evergreens. They were shivering and soaking wet when they landed a few feet from the front door; the winds and rain were now being followed by thunder and lightning it was definitely a tropical storm. Tails quickly led the freezing vixen inside and set a fire to go in the living room's small fireplace and sat her in front of it...

"Hang on I'll find you something dry to wear."

**Sonic was right he really is sweet when he calms down.** She thought to herself as she wrung out her tail.

Tails soon came into the room and handed her a bath robe, "Sorry but this was all I could find for now, I'm gonna go change and see if I don't have anything that'll fit you."

Tails went to his room where he dried off and got changed into a pair of green sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He was resorted to finding almost the same thing for Kara a blue pair of sweatpants and a red t-shirt, he rushed downstairs where Kara was drying her long golden hair, she was the most dazzling creature he'd ever seen. Tails was not used to seeing other foxes but, that didn't matter he felt like he could stare at this one for days without tiring of the sight...

She suddenly turned toward him with a red face, "Oh...Miles I didn't see you there."

Tails handed her the folded clothes, "This was all I could find."

"Oh thank you."

"No problem..." Tails said walking toward his kitchen, "...you look like you're still cold, feel like a cup of hot cocoa?"

"Yes...thank you."

She began to get dressed as Tails was in the kitchen he turned to ask her a question and could see her a bit through the half closed door, he instantly grew aroused, he could see everything. Every contoured curve of her body was visible for a shot time before she slid on the red shirt and blue sweats. **If she keeps this up I'm not gonna last through the night.**He thought to himself as he picked up their cups and headed into the living room again. Tails handed her a cup of steaming cocoa and sat nearby to catch the fire's warmth, not to mention it was pretty close to her...

"Say Miles, you don't have a girlfriend do you?" She suddenly asked him.

Tails's face instantly turned the color of a ripe cherry, "N-no...not really...e-ever actually. And you?"

"Well...I had a boyfriend for a while," Kara replied, "but, he was a little obsessive and began stalking me wherever I went. One day I finally told him that it was over and...he threatened to kill me. Two days later I packed my things and moved to this town. I met Sally and she introduced me to Gwen and then Gwen helped me get my job at the bar."

Tails took a sip from his cup leaving a trail of cocoa across his upper lip, which caused Kara to giggle a bit to herself...

"Thanks for everything Miles..." Kara said bumping him with her shoulder, "...It's really hard to find anyone so nice anymore. You know most men in your position would have tried something stupid by now."

Tails blushed at the compliment, "Yeah well, I think those sort of things should be left to the woman's decision. It wouldn't be a very meaningful experience if she felt obligated or something."

"You really are sweet. A lot more so than Sally said."

"Yeah it's pretty clear to me what those two are trying here."

Kara giggled girlishly, "Yeah painfully clear."

"Sonic has done this as often as I can remember. Trying to pair me up with any pretty girl he finds my age..."

Kara smiled and tilted her head toward him, "You really think I'm pretty?"

**How's that foot taste dumbfuck?** His conscience badgered him.

He ignored the voice, "Beautiful..." He blurted almost yelling.

There was an awkward silence between them for a bit as they drank their cocoa...

"You're very handsome too Miles..." She retorted smiling with a deep blush, "...and too tell the truth I was hoping Sonic would introduce us. I've seen you in town a few times and always wanted to talk to you but...I have a bit of a problem with making a first move on someone."

Tails blushed heavily for a moment, "I-I kinda wanted to do the same thing but...I get tongue tied every time I try to ask someone out..."

"Miles is that why you're letting me stay here? Because you're interested in me?" Kara asked with a light smile.

"Partially...but to tell the truth I'd have given you the room even if I weren't."

She started to make a reply to his comment but as she turned to him their blue eyes met. Tails's heart raced and he lost his breath. Kara was experiencing the same feeling., Tails swallowed hard as he noticed her muzzle was closing the distance between them until he could feel the soft touch of her lips against his. Their inhibitions soon melted away as their kiss heated into a passionate embrace their tongues exploring each other's mouths, soft moans coming from them both as they were enveloped by the feeling...

They broke away from one another long enough to catch their breath and exchange smiles, but then their embrace was brought on stronger than before. Tails left hand held her by her back while his right was tangled in her long hair holding her head gently, Kara's arms both were wrapped around Tails's neck holding on tight, a muffled shriek of surprise echoed into his mouth as his hand firmly grasped her ass. The feel of his hand gently massaging her butt only made her deepen her kiss, Tails jumped a bit as he felt her hand snake past the waistline of his pants and boxers, and take hold of his member, and yelped a bit in surprise quickly moving away, Kara actually looked hurt...

"What's wrong?"

"I-it's just...I've never...you know..."

Kara smiled, "You're nervous then." Tails nodded. "Well...if it helps this is a new subject to me as well..." She said standing up and embracing the young fox,.

Tails hugged her back, "Then why not get to know each other first. I mean if you wouldn't mind joining Me, Sonic, and Sally for dinner tonight."

"That reminds me...I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to call the movers for my things." Kara said.

"Holy crap! How long were we just doing that? It's almost 6 o'clock I gotta get dinner done before Sally and Sonic get here."

-----------------------------------------------2 hours later-----------------------------------------------------------

The house was filled with a delightful smell, the young fox had always been a good cook, that was possibly due to the fact that he was raised by both Sonic and Sally. Where his idol and self proclaimed older brother Sonic taught him to fight and kept him on his toes, Sally took role as a sort of surrogate mother nurturing and caring for the child that Sonic had brought to her in the forest one day. It was thanks to her upbringing that Tails was the cook and person that he was, and he thanked her for it very often...

Just as Tails was setting the table there was a knock at his front door. "I can't answer the door Sonic just come in!" He shouted. The door opened and his two guests walked in, Sonic wasn't dressed any differently than this morning, but the lovely brown furred squirrel that walked in on his arm was of course dressed in her normal attire, a blue t-shirt with a darker blue vest and a slightly tight fitting pair of jeans, one of her dazzling blue eyes were hidden by her long red curls. Sally quickly hugged the fox. He always looked forward to Fridays when he would be visited by the two most important people in his life...

"Sally hi."

"Sorry I haven't been by lately...god I can hardly get my arms around you anymore." Sally said.

"You can thank Knuckles for that. It's all that weight lifting gear he gave me last Christmas."

"Good...you always complained that you weren't strong enough as a kit." She said pushing him away and kissing his nose.

"So anything odd happen today?" Sonic asked with a smirk.

Tails's face grew angry, "Actually yes...Kara snitched on you just about an hour after you left the bar." Tails said causing Sally to start laughing, "She told on you too Sally." That instantly stopped her laughter.

Walking by the fireplace Sally found a familiar shirt, and the two half drank cups of cocoa that sat nearby, "Hey Tails..." She called out, "Why is Kara's shirt hanging by your fireplace?"

Sonic chuckled deviously while poking Tails with his elbow, "That didn't take half as long as I thought."

"Tails did you two..." Sally started.

"Not that it's anyone's business but no we didn't." Tails said a bit defensively, "She is going to be staying in your old room though Sonic and joining us if you don't mind. We got caught in the rain on our way here, she's upstairs taking a shower right now."

The three sat down at the table, "So what do you think?" Sally asked smiling.

Tails blushed a bit, "She's got to be the most beautiful animal I've ever seen...I really want to get to know her better."

"I'm pretty sure she feels the same way Tails..." Sonic said.

"Actually she felt pretty much everything." Tails said blushing.

"Got a little handsy huh?" Sonic said with a bit of a scoff, "I tell ya this one time Sally..."

"Sonic!" Sally yelled cutting the hyper hedgehog off.

"What?" Sonic asked with an innocent smile.

"I seriously doubt that Tails wants to hear that..." Sally said looking over to Tails, "...and even if he dose I don't want him to."

The three talked for some time before Kara entered the room now dressed in her once wet clothes. As a gentleman should Tails stood up and pulled out a chair for her...both her and Sally giggled at the gesture, Sonic just rolled his eyes. "So what's on the menu pal?"

Tails carried in two small platters and set them on the table, "Lasagna..." He said pulling the lid off of one of the platters, Sonic sighed, "...and that chili dog you ordered Sonic." Tails added pulling the lid off the second platter.

"Way cool Tails." Sonic said pulling the platter towards him, "Thanks bro."

After Sonic seemed happy Tails served the two ladies and then himself from the platter of pasta; Kara seemed particularly impressed as she seemed to savor every bite until they were done. After dinner the four gathered in the living room to just sit by and talk about old times, as they also watched a movie. Before Sonic and Tails were done reminiscing the movie was over and Kara had fallen asleep against Tails's shoulder, Sally was sitting on Sonic's lap asleep against his chest...

"Well..." He said standing with Sally in his arms bridal style, "...looks like it's time for us to go."

Tails made sure not to wake Kara up as he got off of the couch gently laying her head on a pillow, he got out a spare blanket and draped it over her and doused the fire before heading to his own bed. When he was in the safety of his own room tails stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his hammock, it wasn't long afterward that he fell asleep. Tails awoke in the early morning; funny, he didn't remember the hammock ever being so comfortable or warm. He kept his eyes closed until a light breeze made his ear twitch, he then opened his eyes to find himself staring at a sleeping vixen with her arms warmly wrapped around him...he was torn, on one hand he didn't want to wake her up, but on the other he felt rather awkward and wanted to get up. As he took a deep breath the scent of fresh strawberries caressed his nostrils, he found himself simply laying there bathed in the scent, and warmth. After a time of laying there Tails finally found a way out of her embrace and into the shower. He soon emerged to find out that Kara was still sleeping. As he watched her sleep he found that he wasn't able to stop smiling; whether it was the breathtaking sight of the morning light on her golden fur, or the near silent snore coming from her...he didn't know.

**What's wrong with me? **He asked himself. **I feel like I could just lay there with her forever. Is this love? No...it can't be, look how long it took for Sonic and Sally...but then how do I explain this?Science can only go so far, but this is a whole new matter to me. Maybe Knuckles can help...him and Julie-su have been together for some time, at least if he can't help Julie-su can for sure.**

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Kara shifted yawning heavily and stretching, she looked at Tails and smiled...

"It was easier to sleep with you up here."

"Don't you have a job to get to?" Tails smiled.

"Not today...I called in sick." She answered, "Now get back up here...I'm still tired." She added giving him a sad look.

Tails sighed and climbed back into the hammock where he allowed them to slip back into the position they'd been in before, but this time he held her close to him allowing her head to rest on his chest. The feel of her fur and breath against his body soon lulled him to sleep as well. This time Tails was woken up by the sound of his cell phone which he reached for without opening his eyes, he placed the device to his ear...

"Road-kill Steak House, we don't run it over 'till you order it." He answered rubbing his eyes.

Kara had just woken up as Tails got out of bed, "Oh hey Sonic...wait, say that again what time is it? 1 o'clock!? Holy crap! What?...sorry Sonic, I'd love to but I have things to do around here today..."

Both of the vulpine's faces turned red as they both heard the hedgehog's response, "Things to do...or people?"

"You perv!..." Tails shouted at him, "...you know we're going to be busy moving her things into your old room today...Riiiight just a joke my two tailed ass. Okay then...give Sally a hug for me...bye."

As Kara smiled she headed into the bathroom and Tails could hear the shower start up. He headed downstairs where he made some coffee and breakfast. By the time Kara got downstairs there was a covered plate of food for her, while she ate Tails was busy at work in the house's basement where his lab was located both of them waiting for the movers to get there...

Later that evening

The movers showed up late and Tails helped move all of Kara's things into her new room...by 6 o'clock her room was perfectly set up the way she liked it.

Tails had worked up quite a sweat from moving her more heavy things, "There..." He grunted as he placed a dresser where she'd wanted it. "That took long enough." He said taking off his shirt and wiping his face with it.

"Thanks for the help Miles."

Kara couldn't help but to stare at him; the beads of sweat that gathered on his fur seemed to make his body sparkle. As he sat down to rest for a moment Kara positioned herself behind him and began to rub the soreness from his shoulders, he flinched a bit as she hit a particularly sore muscle. He was still sore but the gentle touch of the vixen's soft paws soon had him relaxed to the point of dozing off...an unusual sensation came over Tails and a soft, low purr began to rumble from his throat...

Kara found the sound very enticing and smiled brightly with a loud giggle, "What was that? Are you purring at me?" She asked in a delighted voice as she began to scratch the spot behind one of his ears, this caused the sound to increase in volume.

It seemed like what she was doing was actually hypnotizing him as he didn't answer her or even acknowledge that anything was happening. As she kept up her attention to his purring she ran a finger along the length of one of his tails which were twitching back and forth from the attention she was giving him...his back instantly went ridged snapping him into a state of awareness and causing his purring to cease...**See now you went and did something wrong**She thought to herself, mentally slapping herself, she started to back off... "I'm sorry Miles...I got carried away..."

Tails blushed heavily, "It-it's okay...that actually felt pretty good."

Kara moved back in toward him now happy to know she hadn't offended him, "Oh really." She said with a devilish smile as she grabbed both his tails and gently pulled her hands down their lengths.

This time he jumped out of his seat, "OKAY that was going too far!" At the moment he dared not turn around lest she see the considerable swell in his pants, caused by what she'd done.

**Damn it this time I did offend him...**She said to herself mentally slapping herself again**...I just can't help myself when I'm around him, I want him to try to calm down around me but, everything I try seems to backfire. Maybe I should just try talking to him...that what we were doing when he kissed me in the living room.**

"Look Miles...I'm really sorry I..."

Kara instantly forgot what she was saying when Tails suddenly turned to face her, he'd successively made his excitement go away, "My turn..." He said with a mischievous grin. Kara started to run as she let out a playful shriek but, Tails almost instantly grasped her by the hips and tossed her to her bed where he climbed on top and held down her arms.

"Okay you win." Kara admitted as she realized that she couldn't escape his grip.

"Really? What'd I win?" Tails asked releasing her arms.

As if she'd planned the whole thing she instantly sat up kissing him very deeply, this actually caused him to fall back with her on top of him. After the initial surprise faded Tails wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in deepening their kiss. As their tongues met again, Tails could feel his body growing warm, he could feel the same heat emanating from Kara. The kiss heated more and more until Tails felt as if the fur on his body would soon begin to singe. He broke their embrace to give them both a chance to catch their breath, "You-you're...trying...to seduce me."

"A little..." Kara smiled from her seated position on his abs, "...is it working?"

This time Tails sat up quickly forcing them to switch positions putting her back on the bottom, "You tell me."

He engaged her in a deep, passionate kiss that causing her to giggle slightly. A pleasured moan echoed through the room as he began to kiss and suck on the side of her neck, her moans grew in volume and length as his paws had found their way to her bare breasts beneath her shirt...his fingers instantly began to tease her erect nipples.

**Well at least this time there aren't any interruptions...**She said to herself as she repeated what had scared him off before, sliding her paw past his boxers and grasping him. This time however he simply kissed her more deeply than before...

Tails pulled Kara's shirt off exposing her large breasts only to have a familiar voice sound out from the front door, it was Knuckles. "Mother..." Tails managed to cut off the in prompt curse, "...I swear Knuckles if this isn't important I'll kill ya."


	2. The Little Things

**Chapter**** II**: The little things

**AN: (This one was a bit shorter than the last...but that's because I need to work on some other things for a few days and wanted to finishe Chapter 2 ASAP...P.s: This chapter will open up a new nickname for Knuckles...)**

Kara was needless to say disappointed but held back her laughter as she heard Kuckles's voice coming from the living room.

"SON OF A BITCH!! Tails you slammed the door on my tail!"

"Did you need something Knuks I was kinda busy?" Tails said in an irritated voice.

Knuckles knew the look on Tails's face, "Sorry if I interrupted one of your experiments. Were you working on something?"

"I was working on something alright...sigh..."

Knuckles was carrying a small board-like device in his arms, "Well this isn't that important. I can come back."

**He bothers me for a maintenance on his Ex-gear? He's gonna pay for this.**"No you're already here lets see what's wrong with your Ex-gear." Tails replied taking the hover board from the echidna.

The two headed downstairs to Tails's shop where he lay the gear on a table, Tails flipped the board over and took off a small panel. He looked at Knuckles with a strange confused look on his face...

"How in the fuck did this happen?" Tails asked pulling a small rodent out of the board's intake valve, "You have a dead chipmunk jammed in the air intake valve."

Knuckles poked the dead rodent which jumped out of Tails's hand latching it's teeth onto the red echidna's nose, "HOLY SHIT!! Get it off! He's try'n to eat my fuck'n nose get him off!"

Tails burst into a fit of uncontrolled laughter, "Okay...maybe...maybe a little less than dead."

Kara who'd heard the commotion ran to the door, "Are you okay down there?"

"Kara get down here you gotta see this." Tails shouted still laughing hysterically, while Knuckles kept screaming 'GET IT OFF'. Several times he pulled the chipmunk off his face but it simply leaped out on his hands and grabbed his nose again. Kara ran downstairs and instantly burst into hysterics as she saw Knuckles running around trying to get his attacker off his face...

"I'M GLAD YOU TWO FIND THIS SO FUCKING HILARIOUS!!! BUT GET THIS LITTE BASTARD OFF MY FACE!!!"

Tails was finally done with his laughing when he reached for the gear on the table and batted the rodent off of Knuckles's face slamming the now lifeless creature to the wall. Tails then sat the gear back on the table and after a few minor adjustments he set the missing panel back in place...

"Should work just fine now." Tails said as he handed the board to Knuckles.**All in all that was well worth seeing too.**

Knuckles took the board and checked his bleeding nose, "Now I think I'll ride it to the hospital...Thanks Tails." He said leaving the room.

"Sorry Kara but I need to talk to Knuckles about...well something important."

Tails lightly pecked her on the cheek before rushing out of the house to meet Knuckles who was just about to leave.

"Knuckles wait." Tails almost shouted grabbing the back of the red echidna's white muscle shirt.

"Can you do me a favor? I really need to talk to someone."

Knuckles could see that something was bothering the young kitsune, "Sure...what's up?"

"Well...it's a bit of a personal matter...more of an inquiry really."

"Go on..." Knuckles urged him as the two started to walk toward the street several hundred yards from the house.

"When did you realize that you...loved Juli-su?"

Knuckles smiled, he really though Tails would have gone to Sonic with this, "Honestly? The day I met her. Love is...unpredictable, for some it takes a long time, for others not so much. Sonic and Sally for instance...when she first knew him she thought he was selfish, pigheaded, simpleminded, arrogant, you know his less than attractive points, but over time she learned that it was just a cover. Once she met the real Sonic, the sensitive guy that you always knew she fell for him. In cases like Me and Juli-su it didn't happen like that, I almost instantly fell for her...couldn't stop thinking about her but unlike Sally and Sonic we echidna have a deeper connection with one another, the 'Soultouch' is a very powerful thing...Juli-su knew how I felt almost as soon as I did. This wouldn't have something to do with that pretty young thing in your shop would it?"

"Yeah..." Tails admitted looking at his feet.

"This isn't something to be ashamed of Tails. It's natural, and if it hadn't been her it would've been another at some other time...these things just happen." Knuckles said jumping on his gear, "Look a bit of friendly advise...just follow your heart, unlike a certain hedgehog that's always thinking with his stomach."

"Yeah but you have to admit...when it comes down to it he only sticks to the important things." Tails said defending Sonic.

Knuckles chuckled at the truth in Tails's words, "Right you are...I never have seen him fight for anything that wasn't important. Especially in Sally's case...I'll come see you tomorrow I haven't exactly been around very often these past few years."

"Yeah I guess I'll be seeing a lot less of Sonic and Sally too...after they get married all that's left is me." Tails said looking a bit depressed.

"I seriously doubt that Sally would allow that...she practically raised you, as far as she seems to be concerned you are her kit...and I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon."

Knuckles rubbed one of his powerful mitts on Tails's head before his Ex-gear shot off at an incredible speed, Tails just stood there for a moment until it started to rain. Unlike Sonic he actually liked the rain, but right at the moment there were a few things on his mind...like how much longer it'd be before Knuckles realized that Tails had slipped a little something into the right pocket of his jeans.

"I hope he's in an opened area when that thing goes off."

Tails hurried inside only to find that Kara had fallen asleep on the couch; Tails noticed she was beginning to shiver and started a fire. He couldn't sleep now that he had so much to think about; he lay in front of the fire to dry while he went to work on his laptop, of all his toys his laptop was the most used, he kept everything on it; his Chaos Emerald studies, his blueprints for his inventions, his new invention plans, and his journal...as well as a few of his favorite choice games. Unfortunately the only thing on his mind was sleeping not four feet from him. He wanted to find a way of telling her how he felt but...being so suddenly after meeting he feared that such a statement might scare her off. **Then again...**He thought as he began to type out the day's events into his journal**...she did kiss me, and did some other things that would suggest she feels the same...but, how can I be sure? There has to be a way...maybe I can trick her into saying something first, no she's too smart for that. This whole matter is just so foreign to me...It's weird; I can work out some of the most advanced Physiological algorithms in the world, but one pretty girl comes into my life and I turn into a complete space case...** To help his track of mind Tails though back through the day... "Heh, heh, heh...the tough guy got mauled by a chipmunk. I'm never gonna let him live this one down."

It was hours before the young lovesick fox fell asleep next to the fire, his pillow a hard metal laptop and his blanket of warmth the fire that lit up the room. He awoke in the morning to find that Kara was of course gone to work. **Whew that's a load off...I can think for a while, wait a minute she said she didn't have any transport...I wonder if she could handle an Ex-gear unit. Maybe I should make her one.**

About an hour into his construction of the board he already had a working base model, he tested it once or twice then did his finer tuning before he was done, he heard the front door open someone was there. His instant reaction as usual was to pick up a large .60 caliper pistol he kept under his workbench, but soon enough he heard a familiar voice and put the weapon away...

"Miles...Are you here?" It was Kara.

"Yeah...I'm in my lab." He called back. **Wow...how long have I been down here?** He asked himself covering up his gift. **I think I'll give it to her tonight, I still have to paint it.**

Tails hurried upstairs to find Kara soaking wet, "I am really hating this weather right now."

"Well then you give me your things and go get changed. You'll catch cold if you wear those wet clothes too long." Tails said taking her coat and a large bag she was carrying.

She headed to her room, "Alright...but don't you dare look in that bag."

Tails set her things aside and built a fire, he'd forgotten that it was raining when he went downstairs and neglected to build one then. He then went to the kitchen and prepared some cocoa which was something he had planed already as he was thirsty and a bit cold...

"Hey. Kara..." He called while she was in her room, "...have you ever rode on an Ex-gear board?"

"Not a whole lot..." She called back from her room, "...but in this day I think everyone has once or twice. Why?"

Tails cringed he nearly gave himself away, "Curiosity I guess..."

Kara walked into the living room dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a dark gray long sleeve shirt, she sat near the fire where Tails handed her a cup of cocoa, "Thank you Miles."

"No problem."

The two sat there in the fire's warmth simply watching the flames dance across the logs for quite a wile. It was the kind of peaceful respite that Tails enjoyed, something that could never actually happen around Sonic. In fact the television in the living room hadn't been turned on for more than twenty minutes in the last few months. As they sat there Kara stretched her back...

"Hey Miles...what do you say we go out for dinner tonight?" She asked as Tails noticed her tail had coiled into his.

The question hit him kinda fast, "Wh-w-w-w-what...y-you mean like...like a date?"

She bumped his shoulder with hers, "Well silly? You said we should get to know each other better. I don't know of any other better ways to get to know someone. I mean isn't that what normally happens when you like someone? You go on a date? It still was last time I checked."

"Well it's not that I don't...llllike you...but I've never been on a date...I wouldn't know what to do."

Kara leaned into his shoulder and kissed his cheek, "That's okay...you're smart...I think you'll figure it out."

As Tails sat there with Kara leaning into him he felt his temperature rising like all the times before, and began to realize a pattern. It seemed like every time they got to a certain point something interrupted them. As he thought this through he lay his hand on Kara's knee, this action caused her to smile at him while watching his face through the corner of her eye...

**Okay nothing there. Moving on...**

This time he began to slide his paw up her thigh causing her breathing to speed up, her back straightened out, and her body heat was rising too...and even though he was only experimenting here Tails was getting a bit turned on too, then his hand got to the crotch of her pants, causing Kara to gasp a bit in anticipation...

**Hmm...still nothing...I was convinced by this point that someone would knock or something...Oh well fuck it.**

Figuring that his test had failed and he'd seemingly started something he turned toward Kara and engaged her in another heated kiss, which she happily returned with great enthusiasm. He half expected to be interrupted as he began to massage her breasts but, his thoughts were left at peace and as he began to get into his pace Kara reached yet again into his pants...

**...Knock...****Knock...Knock...**

"GOD DAMN IT!!!" He yelled in frustration. **That had to be the fucking off switch didn't it?!**

Tails walked to the door a bit pissed off mumbling something about his foot and a team of surgeons. That was until he got to the door and found Sally soaked from the rain...

"Holy crap! Sally get in here before you catch Pneumonia!" Tails shouted taking her by the arm and leading her to the fireplace.

Her fur was soaked and the blue t-shirt she wore was so set that in clung to her body, her jeans were heavy and made her legs hurt after her long walk...

"What were you doing out there?"

Sally was shivering from the icy chill in the rain outside, "Well..._sniff_...m-my car broke down about 6 miles from here toward Mobotropolis..._sniff_...there were some things that I needed to pick up and Sonic had his own chores to do. If that wasn't bad enough my cell fell into a puddle when I was walking..." At this point Tails made three cups of cocoa and brought one to the two girls, "...thanks Tails."

He sat his own mug on the coffee table, "Look you two stay here...I'm gonna go call Sonic and tell him to get his speedy ass over here."

Sally was finally getting warm as Kara threw a blanket over her, "Thank you Kara." She said taking a sip from her cup, "So..._sniff_...how do you like it here?"

"I really do...and Miles is a really sweet fox. Though he seems to think he's cursed and is a little concerned about our date."

"Cursed?...Date?" Sally asked with gathering interest about the 'cursed' part.

Kara blushed a bit before telling Sally about the three times their little romantic encounters had been interrupted...

Sally's eye widened, "KARA! You've only known him for three days." Sally scolded her.

"I know, I know...but when I look into his eyes...well I just can't control myself. It's like my whole body screams for me to go on while my head says stop...I...I think I'm falling in love with him Sally."

Sally chuckled as she looked toward the room Tails had fled to, "Have you told him that?"

"No...but there is our date," She said blushing a bit, "But I don't want to ruin it by saying something stupid...like you said we've only known each other for three days."

"So...casual sex is okay...but love for some reason is out of the question?" Sally asked smiling.

"...sigh...You know what I meant by that Sally."

"Don't tell me. You're afraid you'll come on too strong and scare him off."

Kara just nodded, "Look I know Tails better than anyone; I mean come on I raised him...I can assure you that as long as you're sincere he'll get the point," Sally said nudging the vixen with an elbow, "After all he's a very smart person...and take it slow, you're both young...there's plenty of time."

"I'll remember that Sally thanks."

Sally smiled brightly but looked a bit troubled by something, "Listen...can I level with you for a moment? I have to tell someone soon...but you can't tell anyone okay?"

"Alright...I won't."

in Tails's room

Tails was on his cell telling Sonic what had just happened...

"So you'll be here soon right?" Tails asked.

"Sorry little buddy, but I'm in the middle of something that Sal asked me to do before she left...what did she leave for anyhow?"

"You don't know?" Tails asked, that was strange, "She said she had things to do in the city."

"Hmm...somethin's fishy here...I've been doing all the chores today. She told me she was coming down with something after all that throwing up this morning." Sonic paused for a moment, "Maybe she got worried and check in with her Doctor. Maybe I should give him a call and find out what's going on."

"Alright Sonic I'll tell her you'll be here in about an hour and when the rain stops in the morning I'll see what I can do about fixing her car."

"Thanks bro...see ya."

It only took a few seconds for Tails to filter out everything and decipher what was wrong with Sally before he walked into the living room, he had to reheat his cocoa. Afterwards he sat down next to Kara who had a strange secretive look on her face...

"So...how long?" He asked Sally as he took a sip of his drink.

"Wh-what are you talking about Tails?"

Tails sighed, a bit irritated that she didn't take the hint, "How long have you been...expecting?" The two stared at him with disbelief, "Come on Sally. There's a trail of hints, and even though Sonic is quick he's not smart enough to follow them."

"What hints?" She almost demanded.

"Lessee...where should I start?" He said resting a finger on the side of his muzzle, "First off your hand hasn't left your stomach since you got here...Second off Sonic said over the phone that you've been throwing up all morning which is why he's out doing chores for you...by the way he'll be here in about an hour...And third you ran off to the hospital without even telling Sonic. So either you're pregnant or...I am unbelievably horrible at this."

Kara was giggling at how Tails had figured that out, "No...you're right as usual Tails." Sally said a bit disheartened, "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner...but I just found out myself. I'm only about three weeks along, which would explain why I've been so hungry recently. I still don't know how Sonic's going to take this."

"I could tell him for you."

"You're sweet Tails..." Sally said kissing him on the end of the nose, "...but I think this is one of those things that just the two of us need to talk about."

It was not long before Sonic arrived, they stayed for about an hour before they headed off toward their house. Tails and Kara set their date for tomorrow as it was still raining and Tails himself went to bed early...he'd had a hard day moving Kara's things, and was honestly still a bit sour about Sally interrupting him earlier. Yet as he lay in his hammock staring at the ceiling he for some reason began to appreciate all of the small things in his life; his friends, his house, his entire life seemed to make more sense...**Hmmm...speaking of small things. I wonder when that stink bomb I slipped into Knuckles's pocket is gonna go off.** He wondered as he drifted to sleep.

not 20 seconds later at Knuckles's house

There's a very loud pop followed by green vapors seeping through the cracks of the door and windows as an enraged voice shatters the night's silence...

"TAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLS!!!!!!!!!"


	3. Serenity

**Chapter III:** Serenity

**(This is a bit shorter than the last two...but it sets up chp 4 nicely which promises to show a side of Tails rarely seen...)**

The morning light shone on Tails's face but he fought against it, then his alarm clock sounded off which he quickly tossed into the nearby wall...**Take that you loud mouthed son of a bitch...**He thought to himself with a yawn, as the alarm kept going despite being smashed into pieces. His eye and lip twitched a bit as he looked at the pile of broken parts...**You gotta be fuck'n kidding. **He walked over and inspected the presumably possessed clock, **hah**. The battery wires were still connected to the alarm box, he stomped on the pieces until the alarm stopped then discarded the trashed time keeper through his bedroom window. After his usual morning shower he changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans then headed into the kitchen only to completely freeze in the hallway...

What stopped him in his tracks was the sight of a dazzling creature standing near the stove cooking something. Kara had obviously just woken up as she was wearing a lace nightgown that Tails could damn near see through. It was a light sky blue in color and hung just low enough to cover her underwear.

**Holy shit!!!** His conscience screamed.

**Shhhut the fuck up! **Tails demanded.

**Are you off your fuck'n nut?...LOOK AT WHAT SHE'S WEARING!!!**

**I swear to god if you don't shut the fuck up...I'll punch us both in the nuts right now.** Tails said clenching a fist.

**ASSHOLE!!!**

"Good morning Miles. You hungry?" She asked not bothering to turn around.

Tails was speechless for a moment, "Uh...umm...yeah thanks." He replied sitting down at the table.

As she turned to face him with a full plate of food Tails adverted his eyes as he realized that he could clearly see her breasts through the nearly transparent material. Which wouldn't have been so bad had she not walked right up beside him, in his sitting position they were at level with his face which made it increasingly hard not to stare. Even after she set down his plate she still stood there watching him...

"What's wrong?" She asked with a slight girlish giggle.

"You...do know that...I-I can see right through that right?"

"You sure are shy Miles..." She said turning around, "...you've seen them before; caressed them even and you still have a hard time with this."

"It's...just going to take some getting used to..." Tails said in an affirming tone, "...I'm not used to living with a sexy woman."

Kara turned her head toward him and looked at him through the corner of her eye, "Sexy?" **Haven't heard him use that word before. **"So what time were you planing on us leaving?"

"Huh?" Tails asked looking up with a mouthful of food.

"Our date...remember?" She proclaimed with her hands on her hips.

Tails thought for a moment, "How about 2:30...I still have to go and fix Sally's car and take it back to her."

"And I'm sorry about the way I'm dressed...I'd wear something different but your dryer stopped working while I was doing my laundry last night."

"Well then I'll have to fix it before I fix Sally's car."

It wasn't long after their breakfast that Tails headed to the back of the house to the laundry room. He had the machine fixed in no time, and walked back into the living room with a strange bag strapped to his back and a yellow, Ex-gear with a white center shaped almost exactly the shape of a snowboard. He stopped at the front door...

"The dryer's fixed...I should be back in about an hour."

An hour and a half passed before Tails came back; Kara had finished her laundry and was now wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. Tails looked horrible, his fur was worn ragged, his shirt had several tears in it, and he was bleeding from a small cut on his forehead. His gear was dented up as well which he angrily tossed aside and half limped to the couch where he seemed to sit down with a bit of discomfort...

"Miles? Are you okay?" Kara asked with concern as she sat next to him wiping some blood from his face. "What happened?"

"I'll be okay...I just suggest you never fall off of a gear board." Tails said flinching a bit as she wiped the blood from his opened cut, "I hit a low pressure pocket...that threw off my board's balance ...then the board threw me. I hit my head and blacked out for about a half hour or so. Then I fixed Sally's car and headed back here. I guess that puts a damper on our plans tonight huh?"

Kara stared at him hard, "Oh no you don't. If that's the case we'll just order in and have it here." She said literally twisting his arm.

"Ow ow ow...okay I get your point. We'll just have our date here."

She finally let go and Tails rubbed his arm, she was freakishly strong for her size...**Damn...this love thing really hurts.** He said to himself.

(About two hours later...)

Despite being in a bit of pain from his injured leg Tails found himself moving about the house with a pound of lead in his gut (that is to say he was nervous). Kara had called out for Oriental food, something Tails had not eaten in some time. To calm his nearly destroyed nerves he left the living room and went to his lab/ workshop to finish with Kara's present. It took no time at all to finish, but still didn't take the edge off...but he knew something that would. He moved to the back of the dark room and pushed a button, the rack of tools above his work table spun slowly inward to it's inverted side, on this side was a collection of pistols and other firearms. Though Tails now had the body of a formidable fighter he knew almost nothing of fighting...but his aim with any kind of gun was second to none...

His favorite pieces of his collection were all named...a set of .80 caliber self made pistols named; 'Dusk and Dawn', they almost resembled .50 calibers but, they were slightly bigger and had a wider barrel and structure. His favorite rifle 'Requiem' was also custom made, it's barrel was designed for a perfect blend of distance and power...at first appearance Requiem could almost be mistaken for an assault rifle, and it was in a way a scaled down _**Barrett XM-109**_ . A small switch above the weapons grip allowed it's user to instantly switch the gun from single shot to full auto, it was the only sniper class rifle he knew of that carried two individual clips; one fed the rifle .50 cal BMG rounds for long distance shots while the other delivered 5.56mm NATO FMJ (Full Metal Jackets) rounds, this made the weapon incredibly lethal at nearly any range up to 2,500yards, it was fixed with a high powered digital scope. From his small guns to his large frightening high powered rifles...his gun collection was his pride, mainly because in some way or another he'd modified each one to fit his specifications...

He had been cleaning them for about two hours, they were due for regular maintenance, when there was knock at the front door. After the third time the door sounded he headed upstairs leaving Requiem in several parts beneath a large towel. At the door was a slightly tall hare; he was dressed in a red shirt and blue pants with a rather stupid looking red cap. He handed Tails several bags...

"Thank you for your order..." The scraggly teen said, "...that'll be twen..." The hare froze and his jaw dropped.

"Hello..." Tails said waving a hand in front of his face, "...twenty-what...WHOA!!" Tails exclaimed as he turned to see Kara...

She was wearing a pair of tight gray jeans and a shirt with a low hanging neck that showed off a lot of cleavage...Tails stood there dumbfounded as he mindlessly thumbed through his wallet and pulled a 100 dollar bill out. Not only was he unaware of the money he'd removed, he didn't even turn around to give it to the boy, instead he reached around behind him and stuffed in into the collar of the petrified kid's shirt promptly shutting the door...

The kitchen table they sat at was very small...unfortunately Tails couldn't concentrate on his food...at the moment he was still dazed by his companion's attire, but there was something beyond that...she'd done something to her hair or something else that had changed her appearance in such a subtle way he couldn't put his finger on it despite the fact that he noticed it...His nose was pointed at his plate but his eyes were on her...

**Holy crap...she's try'n to seduce you man.**

**And?**Tails answered his conscience.

**AND? And what are you gonna do about it?**

**None of your business... **Tails replied.

**Of course it is I'm in here too dumbfuck.**

**You know...that threat earlier still stands.**

**Oh come on... **The voice begged.

Thud!

**...coughs...Okay okay...I get your point...I'll back off.**

Tails grimaced and yelped a bit...that hurt, but it made that fucker go away...

Kara put down her fork, "Hey are you okay Miles?" She asked noticing the look on his face.

"Yeah..." He replied in a squeaky voice, "...just bumped my sore leg that's all." He calmed himself down and after a few minutes managed to ignore the pain. "You...really look...bbbbbeautiful." He said forcing out the last word.

"Thank you..." Kara replied with a light giggle as she blushed like crazy. "...you look pretty handsome yourself."

Tails of course had changed out of his clothes as cleaning his guns had covered them in oil; he was now wearing blue jeans and a white short sleeve button up shirt, that fit a bit tightly across his chest...it was obviously an older shirt. "Thanks..." He said matching her new red color.

They continued to eat in silence for a time until Tails finally couldn't hold it in anymore...

"Kara..."**I love you...just say it...it's only three fuck'n words. **"...I...I'm really glad we did this."

"Me too Miles..." **He's thinking pretty hard about something...but what?...**

"Kara...have you ever been in love?" Tails almost bit his tongue but, he really was curious.

Kara sighed regrettably, "Once..."

"Oh...how did you know it was love?"

"Hmm...I'm not sure how to explain that...you just sort of...know." She replied, "You'll see...you're extra smart so you might notice it ahead of times."

**I think I already have...**

They finished their dinner and Tails took a seat on the couch near the fire and began to record the day's events on his laptop. Kara sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, she attempted to read what he was typing only to realize that he typed in code. Giving up she lifted her legs onto the couch and soon dozed off, as her body went limp with sleep her head fell onto Tails's lap. **Must'a had a hard day.** He thought to himself as he turned off his small computer and set it aside. He sat there studying her for a time, he moved her hair away from her face, and smiled. He knew now that he did love her...but why couldn't he bring himself to say it...maybe it was just too soon to say it out loud. "I love you." He whispered, as sleep began to take him his last thoughts were of her...

**(A.N: This chapter may have been a bit sappy...but the next will surely be violent as hell...P.S: The Barrett XM-109 is worth looking up... GOOGLE that shit if you're curious to what it looks like.P.P.S: All the ammo names are real military rounds...) **


	4. The Beast Within

**Chapter 4** The Beast within...

It was early morning when the sunlight that broke through the curtains woke Tails who once again found himself alone. For a moment he believed that his entire day had been a dream. He took his morning shower and replaced his attire with something cleaner; a white shirt with a single verticle black stripe that crossed the left side of his chest and continued over his shoulder, a dark gray pair of jeans seemed to finish the look. He headed into his downstairs sanctuary with a cup of coffee only to realize that he'd forgotten that Requiem was still in several pieces on a small table...looking at the rifle only made him think of ways to improve it...if that were possible, it already fired at more than three times it's maximum velocity, fired farther than any other rifle, and had almost no recoil. He held back the desire to remodel the weapon and instead simply put it back together and set it in it's proper spot, on his way out of the room he made sure to press the button that hid his weapons from sight...

Not long after going upstairs there was a knock on the door which he quickly answered. It was a delivery of parts and an order for several different Ex-gears, as well as payment in advance. People sent orders to him all the time, even from other continents at times wanting one of his custom gears, several professionals actually used his boards...

"Well..." He said to himself with the large box in his arms, "...at least I won't get bored for a while."

He took his own wrecked board downstairs to repair as well as the parts...captivated with his work as became in most cases he hadn't noticed that the sun had set. Something was wrong...missing...

**8 o'clock? **His conscience reminded him**...shouldn't Kara have been back hours ago?**

**Yeah...you're right, she gets off at 6...**

Tails pulled out his cell and dialed Kara's cell number...**No longer in service? What the fuck?**

**I'm not liking this man... **His inner voice said.

**Look shut up...I'm just gonna try one more thing...**

This time he called the bar where she worked...

"Hooters bar and grill how can I help you?" A familiar voice answered after the second ring.

"Gwen?..."

"Oh hi Tails...how's Kara?" Gwen answered happily.

Now Tails was worried, "...Wait...she's not there?"

"No...she cut out a few hours early to go home...said you had some sort of accident."

"I'm a little worried...she never showed up here." Tails said.

"Well...give me about twenty minutes and I'll check all her normal hang outs...did you try her cell?"

"It says it's no longer in service..."

"That can't be right. I'll call and check her spots like I said...if nothing comes up we'll call the police and see what can be done."

"Alright bye Gwen..."

Tails didn't like this one bit, just last night she was lying on his lap sleeping soundly...but now the problem with her phone and her lateness only brought one thing to his mind...at some point she'd been kidnapped. Before Gwen could call back he had already repaired his gear and was well on his way into the city, moving as fast as his gear would travel. As a precaution Dusk and Dawn were strapped into their holsters which placed them barrel to barrel across his lower back. As he rounded the last corner toward the bar to talk to Gwen he noticed something in the alley behind the bar, which caused him to stop so fast that he was nearly thrown off his board...as he jumped off the board and knelt down to pick the object up his worries took to reality...

"Kara's cell phone..."

**Or what's left of it...**

He searched the area for any clues of who had taken her but, in the end there was no sign that anyone had even been there. His eyes glazed over with a type of anger that even Sonic had only seen in the young vulpine once...it cost several animals their lives including Dr. Robotnik. Tails had always had trouble expressing his anger which usually welled up inside of him, one definite way of getting it out was to mess with his friends or family, and he held Kara in far higher regard than a friend. As he sped back toward his house as fast as his gear would carry him, he was glad Sonic was not with him, he'd always cried around Sonic as a kit but...as he grew up he tried to hide such emotions from Sonic, but the thought of never getting to tell her how he felt was enough to force the tears out, even though his teeth were clenched so tight out of anger that his gums were bleeding. He stopped at his front door just as it began to rain only to find a note on his door, which he quickly ripped free of the knife holding it in place...

_**Miles,**_

_**It's been some time since you and that blue bitch left me for dead, but that's besides the point. I know you have two of the Chaos Emeralds. I'm willing to make a fair trade; two emeralds for one vixen. I am in what's left of Knothole village come alone...**_

_**Nice seeing you again,**_

_**Nack the weasel **_

Tails's fist closed around the note as a growl of pure hatred rushed from his throat, "Nack..."

**Fist Sonic all those years ago...now this...This is beyond personal...**

The anger built of fueling something deep in the pit of Tails's gut that suddenly exploded, the kick that followed tore his front door from it's hinges which embedded itself in his television screen, destroying the nearby end table and the lamp that sat on it. He made his way downstairs where he retrieved Requiem and a long black trench coat that was specially designed to keep his weapons and himself dry...he hadn't worn it in years. On his way out he picked up a small device that placed a small screen in front of his right eye. His cell began to ring as he walked back toward the door but was silenced as his palm crushed it into the wall. Knuckles had long ago split the emeralds among Shadow, Sonic, Tails, and himself to make them harder to steal; himself, Sonic, and Tails all held two whereas Shadow seemed contempt enough holding the remaining one...this was possibly because it was all he'd ever need. Tails collected his two before rushing back to his gear, he had no intention of handing them over, but they were a last resort...

_** Sonic's place **_

Sonic was getting worried, he didn't like the sound of Gwen's voice when she called a few minutes ago. He tried to call Tails but, his phone abruptly cut off completely...

"I'm not liking this one bit Sally..." Sonic said heading out the front door, "...I'm jucin over to Tails's place, somethin ain't right."

"Alright I'll see what Nicole and I can do from here you just go..."

"Gone babe." He replied shooting out the door at such a speed that a low pressure vacuum sucked some of their photos off of the walls.

Moving at such a speed he was at Tails's house in no less than a minute, his sudden stop left a massive crevice in the earth where his stopping feet picked and loosened the ground beneath them. Sonic hated water more than anything, but the rain wasn't bothering him at the moment as he entered the doorless house. The sight of the door lodged into the television along with his smashed cell phone was enough to make Sonic worry even further...he searched the rest of the house before speeding off searching the city for his little 'brother'...After searching most of the city he stopped to call Sally...

"Sal...I don't like what I saw at Tails's place..." He said through his cell, "...Dusk, Dawn, and Requiem are all gone, so are his emeralds. It also looks like someone kicked in his front door and smashed his phone. I don't like it...if what Gwen said was true he might have gone over the deep end again. Bad news for whoever pushed him that far that's for damn sure."

"Sonic you know how he is in that state...he could get himself hurt."

"Yeah the problem is I have no idea where he went...I hate to say this but, I wish Shadow were here right now...just one thought and we'd be there. All I can do for now is keep searching and hope Tails can control himself a bit better than he did with old Buttnik."

** Meanwhile in the north woods **

Tails had finally managed to get a grip on his outraged state of mind, it was just the thought of who was holding Kara...Nack was ruthless, greedy, and worst of all a womanizing lowlife, there was no telling what what the purple weasel could be doing to her at the moment. Thinking on this he nearly lost control again but managed to suppress the voice deep inside that longed to be released. Since the day he'd first lost control, Tails often wondered what this beast within him was but at the moment his mind was only on one thing...her...

There was no moon beneath the forest canopy, even though he could feel the torrential rain breaking through to him. With the added winter air, the droplets of water felt like thousands of needles piercing his skin all at once. Nonetheless he turned on the small device that displayed a screen before his right eye, which zoomed in several hundred yards to a raccoon that was patrolling a small area near the gate of his old home. Knothole was never on a grand scale, just the small huts that the Freedom Fighters had used to live while fighting Robotnik all those years ago. After the Last Assault, the village was all but destroyed, as was Robotnik's robot city...why Nack would come here was unknown.

As he scouted the area with the device over his eye he noticed a light coming from one of the larger huts near the far side of the village...

**I'm willing to bet that's where they are...**He said to himself.

**Yeah but look at all of those thugs...**His inner voice replied.

Tails took out his rifle and began to gage his distance from his targets...**Three foot barrel should do the trick.** He said to himself removing a long metal shaft from the rifle's holster on his back, and screwing it into Requiem's stalk.

Being a sniper rifle Tails's barrels were all silenced, producing only the slightest hum upon releasing one of it's lethal projectiles. He made sure that Requiem was set to sniper mode and placed the side mounted sight over his right eye moving the small screen away. A small switch on the side of the scope made the darkness seem as bright as day to him, showing everything in a light green. The raccoon would be the first to go...the unsuspecting victim leaned against a tree and began to light a cigarette. As Tails's finger depressed the Requiem's trigger he felt the weapon's recoil punch him in the arm, the light hum from the barrel rung in his ears for a moment, a split second after the side of the raccoon's face fragmented leaving only half of the mass limply hanging to the side of his shoulder as the wound fountained blood across the tree his body now slid down into a sitting position. The rifle automatically reloaded ejecting the spent casing...

**Only six more left...**

The next targets he sighted were a brown squirrel and red furred fox, unfortunately they were positioned in such a way that if one was hit the other would have time to warn the others. There was no way around it, the others were also positioned as such as well...**Fuck they were expecting me...**He shouted to himself**...should have seen that coming. Well lets not disappoint.**

Tails removed the long barrel from the weapon and replaced it with one only a few inches long switching it into full auto. He flew down to the ground near the dead raccoon who's wound was still spilling a massive amount of blood. As he marched toward the center of the village several bullets zipped by him...unfortunately for the six that now charged him his aim was not so dim. The jackhammer-like repetition of his rifle released a spray of hot lead mowing through three of the animals as if they'd been standing still...oddly enough the only one that continued to run at him was the fox, as the last two animals turned tail and vanished back into the woods dropping their guns. In an instant Tails took aim at the fox's chest switching the rifle back into sniper mode and firing a single shot...the kinetic force from the bullet tuned the animal over in mid-air, planting him several feet away laying face down in the dirt. He flinched as he moved forward, a bullet during the commotion had stricken his left thigh, the burning sensation was painful but familiar. As he continued to walk toward the hut the thunder-like sound of a gunshot split the now silent area, a small a small plume of dust rose up near his foot...

"Hiding again Nack!?" He shouted into the dark over the sound of the rain.

"I'm smarter then that little fox...since ya took my eye three years back ma aim ain't what it used ta be." The familiar voice echoed through the trees.

Tails's defined sense of hearing honed in on the voices source, he instantly whipped Dusk from it's holster and fired just above a nearby hut causing a familiar form to fall through the hut's roof, "I'm a lot better at this than before Nack! This time it won't just be shrapnel in your eye!"

"Well it looks to me like we have the same handicap now...nice shot buck'o!" Nack shouted to his opponent, "So hows about our little deal? The girl is in the hut right in front of you, with about six pounds of C-4 strapped to her chest...enough to put a small crater in the earth."

"Fine!" Tails shouted, "As soon as she's out of the hut I'll drop the emeralds and leave."

There was no reply for a few moments until two figures appeared from the hut; the purple furred weasel was positioned behind Kara who's muzzle was taped shut, streams of tears ran down her face. The weasel was wearing his normal brown hat and coat with camouflaged pants, and heavy boots, his hands were covered by brown gloves which were topped by a metal plate, he had a limp as Dusk's bullet had completely pierced through his right thigh, and there was now only an eye patch were his left eye once was, a large .44 caliber revolver's barrel rested on Kara's temple...

"Now drop the guns..."

Tails dropped his rifle and pistol...

"Now toss the emeralds in the dirt..."

Once again Tails complied.

"Thanks mate." Nack said pointing his pistol to the fox and firing a single shot into his chest.

The impact from the weapon took Tails off his feet laying him lifeless on the spot where he stood. Nack seeming happy with himself tossed the now distraught vixen to the mud and strode over to the emeralds picking them both up after putting away his pistol...

"Now then..." He said turning to Kara, "...what to do with you?" He continued with a sick smile.

The weasel took several steps toward the helpless vixen before a gunshot sounded off causing him to freeze in place dropping the emeralds in his hands and turning around. A small hole in his chest was gushing fresh blood, and Tails was knelt on one knee with Dusk and Dawn in hand still aimed at Nack's chest. The weasel quickly pulled his pistol only to be taken off his feet by Dusk and Dawn's rapid release of bullets, pulling him off the ground and several feet away the force of the hail of lead dragging him through the mud an extra yard or so before his lifeless body came to a rest. Tails stood up and placed his weapons into their holsters, breathing with great difficulty as he walked over and pulled the tape off of Kara's hands and muzzle, coughing a bit as it hurt to breath...

Kara looked at him, "He shot you...how are you..."

Tails cut her off by pulling up his shirt exposing a dense black vest, "He...always aims for the heart."

Kara forced him into a deep kiss which he broke away from...

"Listen...before anything else happens I have to tell you something Kara..." Tails said feeling a bit woozy from the blood loss in his leg... "...I love you."

Kara's eyes began to water again, "Really?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah..." Tails answered as she helped him keep his balance, "...I wanted to tell you sooner but...honestly it happened so fast it scared the hell out of me...I know we haven't known each other that long but...I still love you all the same."

Kara chuckled a bit, "I love you too Miles...but this isn't really the proper time for this, you need a hospital." She said starting to pick up the emeralds.

"Don't bother...they're fakes." Tails said as he removed his Ex-gear from his back.

Kara got on first and Tails held on behind her to support himself, he'd lost a lot of blood and was feeling faint but...he knew she was safe and at the time that was all that mattered. He'd controlled the beast within and saved Kara...and most of all he'd finally told her how he felt, he had a bit of explaining to do before she would understand all of this, which he didn't fully understand himself. Nack was a mercenary...a hired gun...so someone else was behind this, and whoever it was had already crossed the line...


	5. In the past

**Chapter V **In the past...

Tails awoke in a daze, if it weren't for the burning pain in his leg he would had believed the whole occurrence was just a dream. He tried to sit up only to find himself a bit weak and weighed down by a sleeping vixen who was snoring lightly against his chest. He tried to look for his clock only to recall that he'd smashed it yesterday morning. He must have passed out either at the hospital or on the way there because he was still wearing his trench coat but, his bullet wound was patched up and bandaged. He struggled to get out of the hammock as he urgently needed to get to the bathroom, but in his struggle it flipped over tossing him to the ground with Kara on top of him, their impact with the ground of course woke her up...

"Oh..." She smiled as she looked into his eye, "...Hi."

There was a pain filled look on Tails's face, "Kara...your knee..." He gasped.

He'd only just woke up and had already been kneed in the nuts, "I am so sorry." Kara said guiltily while helping him up.

"It's okay...you didn't do it on purpose...I just really need to get to the bathroom."

While he was in the bathroom he decided to clean up. To do so he was forced to unwrap his wound and set the bandages aside, after his shower, he dried off and bandaged the wound back up. As he slid into a fresh pair of boxers Kara walked in...Tails ignored the fact that he was nearly naked, his leg hurt too much to care now that he'd walked on it...

"Hey Mile..." She cut herself off and turned around blushing wildly, "...sorry. I just wanted to know if you felt like breakfast."

"Yeah..." He replied pulling on a pair of jean shorts that hung just below his knees, "Thanks..."

Kara had no problem after he was half dressed and approached him, "What happened here?..." She asked placing a finger on an round scar on his shoulder blade. "I've never noticed it."

"Long story..." Tails said pulling on a blue t-shirt.

Kara smiled as she reached her head over his shoulder, "Long day ahead."

Tails couldn't look at the face she was making without admitting defeat, "Alright...Lets go downstairs and I'll tell you all about it. About me...and Nack."

She made sure to help him down the stairs as his leg seemed to give him quite a bit of grief, and sat him down at the table then went to the kitchen where she started with breakfast. It was only now that he noticed that she had changed; she was wearing a white tank top with a pair of white jeans, she hadn't bothered to put on any shoes though. Just sitting there studying her Tails started talking...

**000**

"I guess it all started about...four years ago...I was thirteen when everyone thought Sonic died. I didn't take it too well; I stopped listening to Sally and started getting into trouble...one day I made the mistake of yelling at her, telling her it was her fault that he was gone...she didn't deserve that...but, nonetheless talking about Sonic that way with her she made me leave...so I did." Tails started shifting a bit uneasily in his chair, "I was alone for maybe a week traveling before I met him. Nack was a different person then...at least toward me anyhow, he had always hated Sonic but, at that time he barely even knew my name he didn't care who I knew...but despite being a known lowlife he...he felt sorry for me, took me in, taught me to defend myself the only way he knew how...with a gun..." As he went on Kara placed a plate of food in front of him, "...Oh...thanks..."

"Go on..." She said sitting across from him with her own plate.

"Right...After so many months of him and I traveling together we became mercenaries. You know just a job here and there...enough to live. Sure we killed people but, it was never anything too serious. Just your common lowlifes..." Tails paused to savor some of his meal, "...but then, we heard the news, that Sonic was alive. Nack didn't seem to care, we stuck to our guns and just went on with our lives..."

Tails stopped his story for a few minutes to finish his food, "This is really good."

"Thank you." Kara said smiling at the compliment.

Tails put away his plate and sat back down, "Unfortunately that was around the time Sonic came looking for me. He apologized for everything...even the stuff that was my fault, I was just happy to see him again. Nack found out that I was about to leave and used it to get the drop on Sonic. I was shot in the back and left for dead, and he went after Sonic but, as usual, Sonic put up too much of a fight. They were fighting over Nack's rifle when I came to...my first shot blew that missing piece off of his left ear, the second however turned out to be a lucky shot even though I was trying to hit him. The bullet collided with the side of his rifle's barrel, his gun was made of a weaker metal and the barrel fragmented in his face...that was what took out his left eye. Sonic beat him half to death with his own rifle. I ran into him again about...a year back, he didn't seem to hold a grudge then, he explained that it's just who he was...he was just doing a job. Just like yesterday...he just went too far when he took you..."

Kara was distracted from everything for a moment, "Hey Miles?"

"What is it?"

"What you said back in the forest..."

"Sorry if that came off as a little sudden...but I needed to tell you before my nerves got the best of me again." He said standing up, "Speaking of which I have something for you..."

Tails limped to his shop where he found that his weapons had been carefully put away, after picking up the Ex-gear he'd made he left the room and sat next to Kara on the couch near the fire. She seemed a bit taken by the device; it was painted the light blue of her eyes with a golden center, the board rounded off in the front and had two small fins in the back.

"Now you won't have to walk everywhere..."

"Miles thank you. Did you make this yourself?" She asked hugging him.

"Yeah...not to brag but I pieced it together when I had some spare time to kill." He said hugging her back, "I just didn't like the idea of you walking that distance everyday."

She released him and set down the board, "You know not just anybody would do what you did yesterday..."

"Not everybody has someone worth going after..." Tails replied with a smug grin.

Kara blushed heavily and turned her face away, trying to hide the redness in her face from him, his hand caught her under the muzzle. He gently moved her face so that she was forced to look into his eyes. "There's still something I forgot last night..."

"What's that?" Kara asked feeling her face heat up a bit more.

"This..."

Tails pulled her toward him, kissing her very gently. It was unlike any they had previously shared...this wasn't passionate or lustful...instead it was warm and tender...He finally pulled away from her. "I love you Kara."

"Miles I..." She was cut off as he kissed her again, "...I love you too."

This time she lurched out and kissed him, their impact knocked him to his back with her on top still kissing him very deeply. As Tails realized what was going on he wrapped his arms around her returning her enthusiasm, before they could realize anything, they had fallen to the floor near the fire still engaged in their passionate embrace. It wasn't to hard for Tail to tell where this was headed...he just hoped that there wouldn't be any prompt interruptions this time. His pent up frustration from all the interruptions before burst inside of him, the short claws at the tips of his fingers shredded Kara's tank top which he happily tossed aside and began massaging Kara's now bare breasts. She moaned softly at the warmth of his touch. As this happened her hand slid into his pants grasping him tightly...

**No interruption? Thank you god...**Tails thought to himself freezing as she freed him from his shorts laughing innocently before taking it into her mouth**...HOLY SHIT!!! **

**(A.N: I'm horrible at these scenes so use a little imagination people)**

** Later that day... **

Tails woke up still on the living room floor, his head was pounding. He wiped his forehead...there was still fresh sweat all over him, and despite the fact that the fire had died out long ago, his exhausted lover was keeping him warm, her head snuggled into the patch of fur on his chest. He managed to get up without waking her, he even managed to lift her onto the couch without waking her...she really was exhausted, not that he could blame her, she hadn't gone very easy on him. After he got his shorts back on he layered two blankets over her and kissed her cheek, after a short shower to get the smell of sweat out of his fur, he went to his shop where he started working on the order of Gears that were waiting downstairs...

For a few fleeting minutes his thoughts were only on the job at hand but, they drifted around reminding him of all of the things that had happened over the last few days...even the past years began to creep into his thoughts...for a short time he recalled his time with Nack, how for a time he was the same to Tails as Sonic a mentor, Nack had taught him to defend himself...the weasel was also inadvertently the cause of Tails's slight obsession with firearms...he still had only the utmost of respect for Nack but, in the heat of all that had happened he'd learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved Kara. As the thoughts worked through his mind something else began to crawl to his attention...Nack may have been less than honorable in a lot of ways but, he only did work where money was involved...someone was after the emeralds and he was going through some expensive measures to get them as Nack was more than fair with his prices, for a moment his thoughts were on Robotnick...only to be reminded of how he'd killed the scientist some time ago...

**With Robotnick out of the picture, that doesn't leave anyone I know of who'd go that far for the emeralds ... some stupid bastard like last time no doubt...**

An hour passed and he was nearly finished with the first few gears from the order...as he was finishing with the final touches on one of the boards something startled him back to his senses...a soft, warmth pressed against his back causing him to snap a panel shut on his finger...

"Hey you..." Kara playfully said nuzzling the side of his face.

Tails managed to tear his finger away from the vice that held it, "Hey yourself." He replied kissing her on the cheek.

He turned to face her, surprised that she'd obviously come down just after waking up, she for the most part without clothing spare a pair of white lace panties.

He wrapped his arms around her, "I certainly hope this is going to be an everyday look for you." He smiled.

"This is your fault to begin with 'Casanova'..." She said sarcastically pushing him back, "...you destroyed my shirt and now I can't find my pants..."

"Oh really?..." Tails asked in a sarcastic tone, "...cause if I remember correctly you threw your pants on the fire claiming you'd never need them again."

It started with just Tails laughing but as she recalled the moment she realized that he was telling the truth and couldn't help but laugh as well... "I guess we did get a little carried away..." She said.

"A little?" Tails objected pulling away his sleeve, "You bit me." There was a very obvious bite mark on his arm.

"Hey you bit me too." Kara retorted pointing at a similar mark on her thigh.

"NoNoNo...I bit you back...and sorry." He looked over her still messed fur.

It was matted in some understandable places and seemed to stick out everywhere else, she had a severe case of bed hair as well.

"I think you could use a shower." Tails said as he looked her over, "This isn't a particularly convincing look for anyone that may stop by, Knuckles may be by sometime soon...we may want to leave some windows open when he dose though."

**000**

As predicted by Tails not 10 minutes after she was in the shower Knuckles was at the door and was none too happy with Tails. The echidna smelled horribly the chemical that the stink bomb let off was powerful and would last for a few days, after he was inside another lighter colored echidna walked in, her eyes were dark blue and some of her quills were held back with metal braids. Both were dressed nearly identically, both wore a white t-shirt, and where Knuckles wore a pair of loose fitting blue jeans the other wore a long light blue skirt...she looked incredibly angry...

"Tails would you like to explain why I smell like a dead skunk?" She said approaching him angrily.

Tails tried to back away but his leg hindered his movement and he tumbled over the couch...

"I'm sorry Julie-su...you weren't meant to get hit too." Tails apologized holding his sore leg.

Knuckled grabbed the frightened vulpine by the collar of his shirt, "Forget that how long will this smell last?"

"Umm...G-compound 12...bout a week."

"Why the hell would you do that..." Knuckles whispered to him, "...do you have the slightest clue what was happening when that went off?"

"Oh I'm sorry..." Tails said sarcastically, "...did I interrupt something?" He finished with a slightly angry tone.

Julie-su closed in on them, "You and I have a lot to talk about Tails." Knuckles said dropping the kitsune to the floor.

As she approached the couch Julie-su's nose picked up on something, a very familiar smell, "Knuckles dose something smell familiar in here to you?"

Knuckles sniffed the air a few times, then turned his nose toward Tails, "Tails...why dose your entire living room smell like sex?"

Tails crossed his arms and shook his head at the echidna, there was only one answer to his question, "Think about it for a second...Chipmunk-face."

Julie-su instantly caught the hint, her embarrassment turning her a deeper red than her husband, she was very modest about those sort of things...she was still used to the little fox that she used to play with all the time, it was a little hard for her to picture him in a relationship, especially a physical one. Knuckles didn't seem to be stunned by the fact at all, then again Tails had confided in him about it so he had already figured that this was going to happen sooner or later...it wasn't too long before Kara began walking down the stairs to the living room still drying her hair with a towel covering her head...

"Hey Miles there's something wrong with the shower I nearly froze to death up there." She was wearing a red tank top and a pair of khaki pants. "Oh I...uh didn't know you had company." She said as she moved the towel allowing her to see.

Tail walked over and took her by the hand leading her to them, "Kara this is Knuckles...and Julie-su...Julie-su, Knuckles this is Kara. She moved into Sonic's old room." Kara shook both of the echidna's hands, "Knuckles, this whole thing's going to need to wait...we have a serious problem...it's about the Chaos Emeralds."

**000**

Knuckles and Tails sat at the table going over what had happened the other day with Nack. While they were talking Kara and Julie-su were in the kitchen cooking something as it was nearly 6 o'clock...Knuckles nodded his head as Tails finished his story...

"The last time Nack was after the emeralds it was Robotnick that hired him...who would have hired him now?"

"Beats me...but whoever it is has a lot of money and power...and isn't afraid of using either." Tails replied.

"Well at least we don't need to worry about whoever he or she is getting all of the emeralds...Shadow hasn't been seen for years him and Rouge just seemed to have vanished...but still 6 emeralds is nothing to laugh about."

As the two went on Kara and Julie-su set a plate of food down for each person, Kara sat next to Tails and Julie-su of course sat next to Knuckles, "I've heard all this talk of Chaos Emeralds...what exactly are they?" Kara asked as she listened to their conversation.

Knuckles stalled for a moment, "That's a bit hard to explain...you see nobody knows where they came from or how they contain so much power. My people have always chosen a single echidna to stand guard over the emeralds at all times; my father did it before me, and my son or daughter will do the same."

"Why is it so important to keep them guarded?"

"The emeralds are like little energy routers that gather energy from an massive gem called 'The Master Emerald', apart a single emerald could power an entire city permanently...their power source seems to be unlimited..." Knuckles started again after eating a bit, "...they are also however organic, allowing living beings to draw energy from them giving that person incredible strength...if you were to gather all seven at once and draw from them..."

Tails cut in, "The combined energy would make you completely unstoppable. Unfortunately it takes immense physical strength and endurance for a body to contain such energy...I did this once...it nearly killed me."

"Wait you said that the emeralds were like power routers right?" Kara asked.

"Yeah that's right..." Knuckles said, "...they siphon the energy from the master emerald and release it in small doses."

"Would someone be able to draw directly from the master emerald?"

Tails almost choked on his food laughing, "Sure..._cough_...that'd work for about a minute. You see the master emerald may have limitless power but...it's very unstable. You could start drawing power from it but you wouldn't be able to stop, eventually your body would overload...your molecules would all take separate vacations. The energy would simply rip you apart."

"So you could see why this situation is pretty serious?" Knuckles asked, "If the right person got a hold of the emeralds...they could take over the world...or worse yet destroy it all together."

"Then what do we do about this person?" Julie-su asked.

"Unfortunately all we know is that they are after the emeralds...all we can do is wait for whoever it is to make another move...hopefully that'll give my leg time to heal."

The four continued with their meal and soon enough the sun set, Knuckles and Julie-su were ready to leave and Tails had a last talk with Knuckles making sure that the echidna would tell Sonic everything as soon as he could. As soon as they left Tails looked to the clock on the wall... **Time sure does fly**...He thought to himself noticing that it was going on 8 o'clock. He stretched his back and began to limp toward his room, Kara placed herself under his arm on his injured side and began to help him, carrying the leg's payload to let the pressure off the limb. When they got to Tails's room she turned to leave but, instead she locked the door and turned toward him with a familiar smile...she rushed into his arms kissing him hungrily pulling him onto his hammock, he positioned himself on top of her only to break their kiss...

"Hang on...aren't you a little worried about getting pregnant?"

"I couldn't right now if we tried Miles...at least not for about four to six months." She smiled innocently.

Tails shrugged his shoulders, "Works for me." He replied continuing their embrace with a deeper passion than before.

Nobody would have dared interrupt them...neither of them went about their pleasure very quietly, anyone within several hundred yards could have heard them...this made Tails a bit glad he lived in the outskirts of the city with no neighbors. Kara was anything but a silent lover, though Tails didn't mind her cries of pleasure seemed to only fuel his passion. After about two hours the two fell asleep in each other's arms completely exhausted...Tails was happy to only have her on his mind again as he slipped into a deep sleep...


	6. The Warning

**Chapter VI** The warning...

**(I'm working on 2 seperate endings to this fic...one good and happy...the other...not so much. If you R&R this fic give a little opinion on which to use...THX)**

Tails woke up the next morning feeling rather invigorated, his lover was snoring softly against his chest...he looked out his bedroom window only to notice the sun was not up yet then looked back to Kara...she was perfect, the embodiment of every fantasy he'd ever had involving a female; no matter how many times he thought about it he couldn't believe he was with her. As he watched her he brushed her messed hair away from her face, she was smiling...whatever she was dreaming about it was pleasant. Tails managed to get out of the hammock without disturbing the angel's sleep...as his feet touched the floor his bare fur fluffed out against the biting cold in the air, he then quickly wrapped Kara in several warm blankets. Unknowingly in her sleep she pulled the blankets in around her...possibly mistaking them for the one that had been lying with her...

Tails nearly headed downstairs before he realized he was still not wearing any clothes; he then went to his closet and put on whatever he came across...a pair of blue jeans and a blue sleeveless hoodie. As he headed out to the door something landed on his head startling him a bit before he pulled something off of his head...a bra...

"I'm not even gonna ask..." He said tossing it over his shoulder and heading toward the kitchen.

He made some coffee...for himself as it seemed Kara didn't care for the stuff; he still had some work to do before the gears downstairs were done, and being around Kara he'd never get his work done. He made a fire and headed downstairs with a fresh cup of coffee to finish his work, the initial order called for ten gears of special design, to paint them with special patterns he simply laying a special stencil over the board then painting over it. After an hour or so the boards were all painted and run through a final test before he set them aside to dry. He then returned to his room to take the shower he'd neglected himself earlier...he could still pick up Kara's sent all over him, it was a smell that he liked quite a bit, but nonetheless, he also reeked of sweat and that was a smell that he didn't care for...Kara lifted her head from her pillow long enough to say good morning but as the cold air hit her face she rolled over and drew the blankets over her head, Tails just smiled as he walked by and into the bathroom...

** 000 **

Tails wasn't in the shower for very long before he heard Kara walk in. She stepped into the shower behind him wrapping her arms around his neck...

"You woke me up..." She whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry about that...I just needed a shower." Tails replied.

"You don't mind me sharing the shower do you?"

Tails smiled, "No...i don't mind."

The two took turns washing one another under the stream of steaming water until they were both clean and smelled of shampoo rather than sweat and love. As he dried off he couldn't help but watch Kara do the same, her body always drove him nuts, even when she was doing the simplest things. He approached her from behind and pulled her close to him, enjoying the feel of her naked fur against his, with his head on her shoulder he breathed her in deeply, then pulled her in even closer...

"God you smell good." He said as he let his hands begin to wander.

Kara stopped his hands, "Slow down there Miles...I still haven't fully recovered from last night..." She said as she turned and kissed him, "...besides I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Tails chuckled a bit, "So am I but, I think we have different meals in mind...you get dressed and I'll go see what can be done about that hunger."

Tails got dressed and headed back downstairs where he began to work on breakfast...He noticed as Kara headed downstairs, she seemed to be slightly uncomfortable walking. Despite that she didn't have much trouble smiling as he set a plate of pancakes in front of her then continued to make his own, as he took his seat there was a knock at the door...Tails still wasn't sure who'd fixed it, he knew it wasn't him. The person standing there was falcon with bright green feathers...

"I'm here to pick up the gears that were ordered." He said.

"Right...hang on." Tails replied.

Tails limped to his shop and returned to the door with the boards in his hands and handed them to the young falcon, who studied each one...

"Great work as usual..." He said shaking Tails's hand, "...it's been nice seeing you again Miles."

"Thanks Ike...when you think your tour's gonna end?"

"Beats the hell outta me..." Ike answered, "...I got a race in a few days, a stunt show in a week, some charity event next month, my manager even keeps saying something about a movie part."

"Well give me a call when you have some time off..."

"Will do Miles..." Ike froze as he noticed Kara who was just out of earshot, "Hel-lo...who is that?"

"Oh that's Kara, she's my new roommate..."

Ike looked at her and back at Tails, "You two an issue?"

"Very much so." Tails said a bit defensively.

Ike smiled, "Good you always needed a girl in your life..." Ike started down the walkway, "...hope things work out for ya Miles...see ya."

Tails made his way back to his seat and finished with his food. It was about 11:30 when they were both finished eating. Tails noticed that it was a relatively nice day outside so he made his way to the patio that was built on the roof...it was his second favorite part of the house next to his lab, a place where he could relax and let the day's wind take away all of this troubles. The patio was just a small round platform about the size of his room; it had a few lounge chairs and a table that housed a large sun umbrella. From the seat he took he could see the entire city, if anyone approached his house he'd know it...As he lay back absorbing what sun he could through the patchy clouds he closed his eyes, he turned a bit upset every time a cloud interrupted his sun, but he kept his eyes closed so he could relax...that is until a shadow hovered over him for an unusual amount of time...

"What gives who turned off the sun?" He asked opening his eyes only to find Kara standing over him, "Oh...hi."

He moved to one side inviting her to join him...she refused to pass up the opportunity to be close to the vulpine and took his offer with good faith. She was a bit cold as the t-shirt she wore was rather thin and the winds were picking up, but as they wrapped themselves in each other's arms their combined body heat was enough to keep them both warm. Tails wondered to himself how he ever slept before without the comfort of having her there to hold...he doubted that he'd ever be able to go back to sleeping in a bed without her there. Soon enough he began to hear a familiar sound, it was the near inaudible snore of hers that had always made him smile, she was apparently still tired. She held onto Tails like a kit with a security blanket. As he lay there he ran his fingers through her long hair, he loved playing with her hair, and her tail for that matter...she didn't seem to mind too much when he played with her tail either...in fact at most times it seemed to turn her on, then again it was easy enough to get her going anyway. After a bit of time the sound of her sleeping mixed with the feeling of her body against his drew him back to sleep...

** 000 **

When her finally woke up he stretched his arms...there was no Kara, he for some reason panicked and rushed downstairs, there was still no one. He ran out into the streets rushing through the city...nobody, Sally's house, Knuckles's place, the bar, everywhere was desolate he was the only person in the city. He finally ran out of breath and collapsed to his knees as he approached his own house again...

"What's going on? Where is everybody?" He asked out loud covering his eyes with is paws.

"**Is this what you truly fear...solitude?..."**A familiar voice asked.

The fox pulled his paws away from his eyes and looked around, he was nowhere near his house, there was a thick blanket of fog all around him; he couldn't see anything below his knees or anywhere in front of him...As he stood there a figure began to approach him but, because of the fog he could only make out a silhouette. It was a tall thin human, as he came into clear view Tails jumped back a bit...

"Wait..." The man shouted as Tails stated to run. "...I am not who you think I am."

Tails stopped and turned to face the man...It was Robotnick...well a Robotnick; this man was thin and tall, he wore a white lab coat, and a dark pair of glasses that signified that he may be blind, his mustache was well trimmed, and his head was bare of all other hair...

"It doesn't matter this is all just a dream anyhow." Tails said.

"Then why did you not wake when you said so...once one realized that a dream is a dream, the dream ends."

"What do you want Robotnick...?" Tails demanded.

"To warn you of something that may well make this vision come to pass...I am Professor Ivan Robotnick...your Robotnick's grandfather. I taught him everything he knew about robotics but, as he grew older he perverted my study, and I learned his terrible secret...he was a Technopath." The man said, "As he grew into manhood...he showed me his prized invention 'the Robotisizer' ...I attempted to talk him out of his lapse of sanity but, he killed me...his own grandfather."

"So...what dose this have to do with me?"

"You share something in common with my grandson...something that may very well save everyone you've ever loved."

"What are you talking about?"

"You believed you killed my grandson, but unfortunately he lived long enough to finish his crowned achievement...a perfect Mechanized version of Sonic. He was recording the entire fight when Sonic was Robotisized, he kept detailed documents on all of the robot's abilities and construction. It took him years but, he did complete the robot...unfortunately he made the thing too perfect. The positronic brain he created for it was far more powerful than any supercomputer, the first time the bot was activated in tried to kill him so he shut it down, and stored it away...someone has found his old storage warehouse and is trying to find a way to activate the robot again..."

"What would happen if they did?"

"It would kill whoever activated it and then go after it's only threat...you, and it'll take out anyone that gets in it's way." Ivan said, "Do you understand why it would strike you first?"

Tails lowered his head, "Because I'm...Technopathic like your grandson."

"That's right...it is well aware that one touch from you, and you'd know how to destroy it..."

"Where can I find this warehouse?...If I can stop the one behind this the robot will never be activated."

"In what's left of Robotropolis...I'm not sure of it's location but, you will need help to find it...it is time to tell your friends about your secret Miles. Especially if you wish to keep Kara alive..." As he said this the figure began to fade, "...your parents send their regards and love from the other side, they are very proud of you Miles...good bye."

"...iles...wake up...MILES!!"

Tails suddenly jumped up falling out of his lounge chair landing on his head, "What the hell Kara?" He asked groggily as he rubbed his sore head.

"You nut...it's raining again, get inside before you catch a cold."

Tails hadn't noticed but, it was indeed raining rather hard...his fur was soaked. He managed to hobble into the opened door that Kara was holding for him. They made their way into the living room where Kara handed her soggy lover a towel, as he dried off he thought about what his strange dream...if that is what it was...he didn't want to hide his ability from his friends, especially not from Kara. He'd been teased and tormented as a kit about his tails, he only imagined what they'd say knowing that he was Technopathic...

**Their your friends you dumbfuck...they'll understand. **His conscience said.

**Where the fuck have you been?**

**I'm your conscience...**The voice replied**...I'm only around when you need me.**

**So what do you think?**

**I really like Kara...I think you can trust her not to freak out, you should tell her...remember when you're stressed out so am I. It's not good for your health or mine...**

**Alright but this was your call...**

**Hey...have I ever steered you wrong?**

Tails scoffed to the voice...**You want an answer or a list?**

**Oh ha ha...just tell her...**

Tails sat on the couch near a fire that had been set some time ago, and called Kara to sit next to him. She was a little confused when he took down the wall clock and set it on the table in front of him...

"Kara...I want us to trust each other, and for the most part that means no secrets right?"

"Alright then..." She replied.

"Look there's something about me that I've wanted to tell someone for a long time...and I think I can trust you with it, it's the one thing about me that even Sonic and Sally don't know..."

"What is it Miles?" Kara asked caringly placing a paw on his shoulder.

Tails lifted a small log of firewood and smashed it down onto the clock as hard as possible causing it's parts to spray across the table in front of them. Kara was a bit shocked but, simply sat by and watched hoping that he was trying to make a point of mindlessly destroying a perfectly good clock. She watched wide eyed as Tails waved a hand over the clock's scattered remains...she jumped back a bit startled as it's different parts began to crawl across the table and fit themselves back into place, dents in the clock's face popped back out and the arms unbent themselves, even a bolt and small spring that had fallen from the table crawled up the table's legs and within seconds the clock was ticking soundly again...Kara looked at Tails with her mouth and eyes wide open...

"What the hell was that?" She asked in amazement.

"I...I'm a technopath..." Tails said, "...any machinery I touch or get close to I can repair or reconstruct with thought alone. I can also touch something and tell you every component it's constructed of and what can be made from the parts..."

"Why haven't I seen you use this before? It would make your work so much easier."

"I love technology Kara...it would be a bit of a waste studying it when I can just wave my hand and make it fix itself...but I like to use my hands."

Kara nuzzled the side of his face, "Tell me about it..." She smiled.

"Is everything sex with you?" Tails asked playfully.

"No..." She smiled, "...you're just a bad influence."

"Right...I'm the influence here."

"You are...I never started acting like this until I met you."

**Ya know maybe she's right...** Tails's conscience spoke up.

**You're not helping...**

**Telling the truth rarely dose.**

Tails ignored the voice in his head, "You're taking this surprisingly well." He said as she began to kiss his cheek.

She looked him in the eyes, "I told you Miles...I love you. I could hardly say that truthfully if I turned away at the first sign that you were different; I happen to love your tails, and how many girls can honestly say their boyfriend is psychic?"

"Boyfriend?" Tails asked.

"Yeah...we live together, sleep together, and do several other things together that would imply..."

Tails smiled and crept a bit closer to her, "Hmmm...I wonder what those 'other' things are..."

Kara started backing off, "See now who's the sex crazed animal?"

"Mmmme." He said leaping at her, she dodged him and he landed on his chest, "Run but you can't hide!" He said as she bolted upstairs.

He got to his feet, and as quickly as he could followed her trail upstairs, he searched the area for about a minute. He was so worked up from their little game of chase he couldn't even hear her muffled giggling coming from the closet...but as soon as he walked past the closet she threw the doors open with a playful shriek and ran back downstairs. As she ran down the stairs she looked behind her to find Tails wasn't there, but as she turned toward the bottom of the stairs Tails was waiting with opened arms that she...in a startled state...fell into knocking them both to the ground...

He was wearing a cocky smile, "I win...it's easy to get downstairs when you know where the hidden chute to my lab is."

She smiled back at him as she was at the moment sitting on his stomach, "You cheated."

Tails chuckled a bit, "Yeah a little...but I still caught you."

She lowered herself pressing her muzzle to his giving him a short kiss, "What was that for?" He asked.

"Being yourself..." She answered kissing him again a bit deeper than before.

"And that?" He asked playing with her ear a little.

"Everything else..." She answered laying her head on his chest, "...I never really thought that my life could be...so...complete. Being like this with you, I can forget every trouble I've ever had. I love you Miles...more than you know, the only thing that matters to me now is us..."

**..._sniff..._Dude that was beautiful... **Tails's conscience said.

Tails ignored the fact that his leg hurt like hell and wrapped her in his arms, "Kara...I love you more than anything...more than life itself. Being with you has been the happiest days of my life. Thank you."

**..._(Powerful sobbing)_... God damn it...you two are killing me in here...** Tails's conscience shouted.

The two didn't even bother going back upstairs, rather Kara helped the vulpine to the couch, where she lay down pulling him on top of her, kissing him very deeply...

"You know it's still pretty early...if you need more rest..." Tails was silenced by another kiss.

"You know sometimes you talk too much." She said breaking their kiss.

Tails smiled before engaging her in an extremely passionate kiss that removed any word the two may have added. Remembering how they'd fallen off the couch last time this happened they moved to the floor laying down several thick blankets. Still standing up, Kara waited until Tails was done laying down the blankets, before returning the passionate kiss he'd started earlier causing them both to melt into one another's arms and sink to the warm blankets below...

Tails had learned from their other experiences together, and was well aware of what Kara did and didn't like...just as she knew his different likes and dislikes. Tails admitted that she had always satisfied his needs in bed and only hoped that he returned the favor...but judging by her cries and moans of pleasure he could only presume that he was doing something right. Any word she said, as well as any sound or action she made seemed to fuel Tails's desire to please her...she appreciated his efforts with great enthusiasm, she especially enjoyed the attention he gave to her breasts as she'd discovered that they were very sensitive to his tender touch, he was a gentle and generous lover which only added more to the long list of things that Kara loved about him. That as well as his stamina...she was convinced that he could go all day long without tiring something she intended to experiment with at some point or other...

Tails lay there holding his lover under the warmth of the blankets, he swore long during their first encounter that he'd never love another girl as long as he lived...he swore the same thing to himself and her as she slept every time afterwards as well. He couldn't help but get lost in thought as he ran his fingers through her hair...

**You're sure thinking hard.** His conscience said.

**I...I'm a little afraid to be honest...**

**I know...**

**Everything is just...to...**

**To perfect?** His inner voice finished.

**Yeah. I want to feel this way for the rest of my life; just me, her, and the comfort of being with her...**

**I know one way to make that happen...**

**You don't think it's too soon?** Tails asked.

**Nothing with her is too soon...you know that better than I do.**

Tails chuckled to himself**...I'll look into it...and thanks for not being the normal smart ass you normally are.**

**Hey...there comes a time when we all need to be a bit more serious; accept for your sensitivity...man he gets on my nerves, and don't get me started on your sense of humor...Bastard wouldn't know a good joke if it hit him in the face...**

Tails couldn't help but laugh to himself**...It's always a pleasure talking to you...or me...or however you would phrase our little conversations.**

All of the thoughts fresh in his mind he found himself drifting off to sleep. As he finally began to doze off the looked at Kara's face, and smiled, maybe his conscience was right. After all they did love each other, both emotionally and physically, he made a mental note of things to do in the morning and finally fell asleep...completely contempt in his place in the world...Kara's arms...

**AN: Well there's not really much to say here...chapter kinda lays it on a little thick but there's a reason for it...what's the reason? You ask. Well you'll find out...for now I have a few other fics to catch up on. I've been pretty damn sick lately... **


	7. Shattered Silence

**Chapter VII** Shattered Silence

** 4:15am**

** (This chapter has a little action but nothing compared to the next one in which there will be almost nothing but...ONE BIGGGGGGGGGGG LOOOOOOOOOONG gunfight...)****  
**

Tails had been awake for hours, he knew what he was about to do...he also knew it wasn't very smart but...he did know who to call to make sure he didn't end up dead in the process. He needed someone quiet, fast, and overall lethal, and he only knew one person that fit every one of those parameters. He kissed Kara's cheek and got dressed then headed downstairs. There was an emergency phone just in case he needed it...a cell that he kept hidden with his guns. He pulled it out and dialed a quick number...

A soft voice answered on the other end, "Espio speaking."

"Hey...it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It's good to hear your voice Miles. Can I help you with something at this fine hour?" Espio always woke up before morning.

"Yeah...I know it's been over two years and all but..."

Espio chuckled a bit interrupting the fox, "I'll meet you on Sunset hill in an hour...do I need weapons?"

"And your stealth suit...and Espio thanks."

"It's an honor to be of assistance...especially if I get to kill something."

This time Tails chuckled, "You'll most likely have your fill...I'll see you in an hour."

Tails put together his things; the same outfit he wore when he fought Nack, after his trench coat was on he slid Dusk and Dawn into their holsters, then Requiem...he strapped a bandoleer to his chest beneath his coat and loaded it's twenty slots with specialized ammo for his rifle. He then went over his collection and pulled out two things he may need; one was an extra weapon called 'Darkside', a modified auto shotgun loaded down with exploding slugs...just in case, and several different grenades. He retrieved his eyepiece and took down a large revolver. He took his Ex-gear and headed for the door leaving behind a small note, and another kiss on Kara's warm face before leaving the house...

Sunset hill was a few miles past the far opposite end of town overlooking the Emerald coast, Espio used to visit the spot often when he was still with the Chaotix, it was a quite place to meditate and had a beautiful view, the only tree on the hill was a massive cherry tree that he planted there himself...they were always his favorite. Tails showed up a bit late, but noticed that there was a familiar purple gear leaning against the large tree's trunk. He brought his gear to a stop and placed it next to the purple one...

"Sorry...I'm a little late."

"There is no need to rush in life...or life itself will rush by." Espio's voice carried on the slight wind.

**What the fuck is this guy?...a fortune cookie?** Tails's conscience asked...**I mean come on...who the fuck talks like that?**

Tails knew where the chameleon was, a small flat rock near the edge of the cliff, as he approached it his old friend faded into view. His bright purple scales were hidden by a tight fitting black suit which consisted of a sleeveless top and a pair of tight long pants, his muscular arms reminded Tails a lot of Sonic, the two were nearly the same size. His hands were covered by fingerless gloves designed especially for making his martial arts more lethal which connected to metal bracers, his feet were equally attired, a straight edged katana was strapped to his back, and an similar, smaller one was strapped to his belt, there were many kunai and surikens hidden about his attire...the horn that once rested before his green eyes was half missing, and he had a large scar that looked like someone had attempted to claw his right eye out...

"Now then..." Espio started, "...why did you call me for this and not Sonic or Knuckles?"

"You're quiet and a better fighter than both..."

"I'll buy that...now tell me what's going on."

Tails filled him in on everything that had happened, and placed great emphasis on the dream, and everything Ivan had told him. Espio seemed intrigued by the dream but even more so about another situation...

"A girl...is that what this is about?"

Tails looked away, "You wouldn't understand."

"And why is that? You think you're the only one who's ever put his life on the line for love? If so I'm afraid you're terribly mistaken..." Espio said with a bit of heat to his voice.

"The robot...it's main program is self-preservation..."

"...And that would mean kill the technopath..." The ninja finished for him.

"Right...and it'll kill anyone that gets in it's way..."

Espio sighed, "...And if this...Kara of yours is anything like you've made her out to be...she'd definitely get in the way."

Tails nodded, "Without a second thought...the same thing I'd do for her."

"Good...if you love someone you should be willing to protect them with your life..." Espio replied grabbing his board, "...now let's go. I haven't had this kind of work in far too long."

Before Tails and Espio sped off on their gears Tails handed his friend the large .50 caliper revolver he'd taken from his collection...

"Look I know how you feel about guns...but just in case..."

Espio smiled as he tucked the firearm into his belt line, "Thank you Miles...I hope I won't have to use it."

The two sped off toward the old ruins of Robotropolis...it was quite a distance and would take some time to get there. The sun was already peaking over he horizon as the two vanished into the north woods, they'd have to pass Knothole to get to Robotnick's old base...luckily they were both all too familiar with the area...

** 000 **

It had been a bit over an hour after Tails had left when the sun shining through the living room window roused Kara from her heavy sleep. At first she didn't open her eyes until she reached for her love, only to find that his warmth was nowhere to be found. She thought nothing of it and got her clothes together then headed upstairs hoping that he'd be in the shower...but he was not. She tugged at her tail nervously as she realized that he was not in the house, and after a very brief shower she headed back downstairs, then to his lab...only to find a number of his guns were missing. She bolted for the door only to find a note tacked to it written in Tails's hand...

**Dear Kara,**

**I hope you can understand that I had to do this, what 'this' is I'll save you the details as it would only make you worry further...but trust me when I say I'm only doing it for your safety as well as for any future the two of us may hopefully have together. I won't be gone long, and have a very strong friend with me...you may find this hard to swallow but he is a ninja and a highly trained fighter, we'll both be fine. Please don't be angry with me, though if you do, or even decide to leave I'll understand...and I'll still love you no matter what happens...don't tell Sonic or Sally, those two have enough stress to deal with already...**

**P.S: I swear when this is all over with...you and I'll take a nice long vacation.**

**Love you always, Miles...**

A tear fell from her blue eyes, "I'll hold you to that Miles...just come back alive..."

** 000 **

As the two sped through the forest as fast as they'd dare Espio pulled his gear next to Tails's...

"You fully intend to kill anybody standing in your way don't you?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said I'd do anything for her." Tails shouted back over the rushing air.

The two weaved past trees that got in their way, "This lover of yours seems to have changed you for the better Miles, you should have found her years ago."

"I wish I would've..." He whispered to himself.

Espio looked to Tails, "How much further?"

"A few more miles...we'll stop at the edge of the ruins and work our way through by foot...we don't want to be seen before the fun starts."

"I couldn't agree more..."

Espio and Tails wove their way through the forest dodging trees, and flying over small streams. Within the next hour they reached the edge of the forest where everything seemed to become metal. They carried their boards out of the forest and into the sight of Robotropolis; it sent chills down Tails's spin that caused the fur on his neck and tails to stand on end...The final assault the Freedom Fighters had had launched on the technological city had been devastating, nothing was spared, what buildings stood barely managed to do so without crumbling to the ground. A tower peaked out of the rubble here and there, like giant tombstones in a mass graveyard, each one a grim reminder of the twisted mind that had erected them...the same mind that lay to rest somewhere amongst the debris. They hid at the edge of the city in the ruins of a dilapidated building...

"It'd be best if we waited until nightfall..." Espio suggested giving his equipment a second over.

Tails took a look around, "Yeah...it'll be easier to get around without being spotted. It's at times like these I wish I were a chameleon too."

"If only we were all so lucky..." Espio chuckled.

Tails handed the chameleon a small device that looked a bit like a small pill, "Put it in your ear...it's a communicator."

"Good I'll go scout the area and shadow someone if I can...from what you said earlier there's bound to be a lot of guards..." Espio said fading into the surroundings as chameleons often did, his suit was made of a specialized material that Tails created from a sample of his skin cells so that it could stealth out just as he did, the sheathes to all of his weapons did the same, "...can't thank you enough for this outfit Miles...you most likely hear it all the time but you're a genius."

"You're wasting time Espio...and you're welcome."

Tails could hear Espio's rapid footsteps as he inclined and run up the wall and through a small window; as he thought about it, every single natural ability of a chameleon seemed to fit the way of a ninja perfectly. He could scale walls and walk on ceilings, and he never really needed to hide from anyone, he could stand right in front of your face and the only clue you'd get that he was there would be the wind from his breathing. He was also incredibly fast on his feet and physically powerful, almost like a perfect mix of Sonic and Knuckles, just trained as a lethal weapon since he was very young...in fact what martial arts Sonic knew he had learned from Espio, simply because Espio was the only one with enough patience to teach the thick headed hedgehog.

While Espio was gone Tails went over his things; he was wearing a pair of bracers given to him by Espio a long time ago, when triggered properly each one produced a foot long blade from beneath Tails's wrists...he almost never had to use them but, he could never tell what was around the corner...and of course as always he could fall back to using his dewclaws if necessary, as he kept them tapered to a razored edge...a properly aimed swipe from Tails's claws was enough to be considered deadly, though each claw was scarcely over a centimeter long...that was enough by any stander make a deep cut that could result in death. He released his dewclaws from his fingers and retracted them several times...as he looked them over he realize how much he disliked using them as weapons, it made him feel like a feral beast. The last time they were used as weapons, they dug deep wounds into Robotnick's face and chest...that was also the first time he'd ever bitten someone in self defense. He instantly realized how much he disliked the taste of blood, but at that moment the fact that it was Robotnick's blood that flooded his mouth only made him bite harder, he even began to shake his head from side to side tearing the flesh from the madman's arm. Tails smiled to himself...he was always proud of what he' d done to Robotnick, even if he did attack him like a wild dog, Robotnick's screams were like sweet music to Tails and Sonic often recalled the moment laughing the whole time.

As Tails recalled the past he hadn't even realized he'd used one of his claws to carve Kara's name into the wood inlay on the handle of his rifle...he smiled...it seemed she was on his mind even when he was thinking of other things...

**We should get ready...it's starting to get dark...**Tails's inner voice said.

**Right...lets find the sick bastard that's behind this and take him and that robot out...**Tails replied**...Then it can be just me and her...no more of this bullshit...**

Tails waited around for about another hour before he heard Espio's feet hit the ground before him, causing Tails to loose his breath for a moment...

"You know what would be a great help?" Tails asked, "Not doing that?" He almost shouted.

"Force of habit...sorry."

Tails calmed himself down, "So how many?..."

"Stopped counting just over a hundred...lets just say it'll be a long night ahead."

Tails laughed a bit, "Damn." He said sarcastically still laughing.

Espio laughed a bit to himself as well, he did see Tails's point...two against nearly two hundred...

"You're certain about this?" Espio asked.

"Yeah...do you know where the warehouse is?"

"I came across a structure surrounded by animals...it can be safely assumed that it would be the place you're looking for. It's a few miles in, hell of a walk."

"Well then...lets get this over with..." Tails said...**I just want to get home to her side...**He continued to himself.

The two didn't share any more words, they simply waited until dark and headed out into the destroyed city. Espio seemed to waste no time in pulling his sword which was only about four feet long altogether. Tails held his rifle at the ready at all times, the silenced barrel would make sure nobody would hear anything if he was forced to fire. As the two approached a downed tower of some kind Espio brought Tails to a stop...

"There were several guards near this tower..." He warned the kitsune.

Tails climbed onto a small pile of debris nearby and took a look at the surrounding area with his rifle's scope. Espio was right...**Two...five wow...they really are guarding something.**

Espio joined his little companion, "Can you take them without being noticed?"

"...The two on the right yes...the three on the left may be a problem, but I think I can take 'em all out."

It took only a few seconds for Tails to pick out his first target; a gray walrus who's left tusk was missing...he'd made the mistake of having to use the bathroom. He moved behind a large oak tree to urinate which gave Tails a clear view of the back of his head...Espio watched the show through a small scope that he was carrying, he was a bit curious as to how powerful the rifle was. He seemed disturbingly pleased as he heard the hum of Requiem's barrel, and was awed by the impact. The single .50 caliper bullet struck the walrus between the shoulder blades, slamming him into the tree where his lifeless body slid to it's knees still resting against the tree. Espio kept quiet as he noticed Tails was lining up another shot. This time his target was another of the three on the left side; a white furred rat who was at the moment looking for his walrus friend...

"That's right...a piss doesn't take that long...he's right by the tree." Tails whispered.

As the rat found the walrus he nudged him several times until the walrus's body fell to the ground exposing the large exit wound in his chest. The rat turned in an attempt to spot the shooter, unfortunately in the darkness of the night Requiem's scope gave Tails a clear sight of the rat's frightened face...which promptly fragmented into a fountain of blood sending large chunks of gore in all directions, the body struck the ground with a force that rolled the corpse onto it's stomach. The light brown wolf that was with the two was standing clear of any others seeing him, a third shot from Requiem struck him in the side of his neck...this shot issued an impact that even Tails hadn't seen before; the explosive penetrating power of the round caused the base of the wolf's neck to burst sending a fully decapitated head soaring into the air...

Tails lowered his rifle for a moment, "Alright E..." He cut himself off as he noticed Espio was gone, "...Espio?"

When he received no answer Tails drew his sight back to Requiem's scope and set it to the other two guards that were on the right side of the small area. The two were seemingly having a friendly conversation; a brown furred fox having a cigarette, and a squirrel that looked like he could have been related to Sally. As he watched the two carry on the fox turned around still obviously talking. He didn't even notice his friend how was lifted off the ground by an unseen force, which tore a wound across the squirrel's stomach spilling his entrails. As Tails kept watching what was obviously Espio at work, his long chrome polished sword seemed to appear out of nowhere and hang above the ground. As the fox turned to face what would have seemed like a phantom sword, Espio delivered a string of fast paced slashes that removed his arms and head. Tails took this as an opportunity to make his way to Espio who he found cleaning his blade of the fox's blood...

"That's five down." Tails said making sure not to step on the fox's severed arm.

"True...only...still over a hundred to go."

** 000 **

Hours passed as the two made their way through the destroyed city. Espio took point so that he could direct Tails through the place. He wasn't kidding when he said the warehouse was far off, but as they approached a small ridge Espio lead Tails to the top of a half destroyed building and pointed about 160 yards to the north. He was pointing to a large fully standing structure surrounded by at least 80 guards...

"I can see why you stopped counting..." Tails said...**107 altogether...**His conscience added, "...There's 107 guards, odd number."

**Any ideas smart ass? **Tails asked his inner voice.

**Normally I'd say kill 'em all...but, we only have so many bullets...**

It took Tails a moment to formulate something, "Hey Espio did you bring any of those exploding surikens?"

"I did...but only about twenty."

Tails looked through his things, "I've got about twelve blast grenades..." He said noticing a building not that far from where they were, "...say...Espio. You wouldn't be able to get at least most of them into that half standing building would you?"

"I don't know what you're playing at but...I think I can manage."

"Good but first I need your help with something."

Tails led Espio to the still standing structure, it was actually pretty big. As Espio kept watch Tails moved about the building setting his plan into action by rigging his explosives to the building's main supports. Some of Espio's exploding surikens well placed would make sure the explosions would create a chain reaction. Espio gave him an unsure look as Tails finished and they headed back to their perch on the crumbled pile of rubble they had originally to stay hidden from the massive swarm of men...

"You sure about this?" Espio asked, "That damn sure won't be very quiet."

"It's a good diversion while we go through that skylight on the roof though."

Espio rushed off toward the warehouse...Tails made sure to use his rifle to keep an eye on his friend. Espio rushed toward them at a ninja like speed...as he came close enough he hurled a kunai which tore into a wolf's face. This instantly got the other animals's attention who swarmed toward the chameleon. Espio then ran off toward the half standing structure they'd rigged. As a particularly fast blue mongoose began to catch up with Espio, Tails fired off a round from Requiem, the mongoose's knee exploded forcing it to tumble across the ground several yards and he was moving at a rather quick pace. As Espio had a distance to travel any animal that got too close was stopped by Requiem's pinpoint precision, most of the other animals were far too busy chasing Espio to even notice that their allies were falling to the dirt most of who would never get back up...

The animal guards seemed to have no problem rushing into the building that the two had rigged...as soon as Espio was clear again Tails took his aim to one of the grenades that was placed in clear sight for his rifle. The ensuing chain of earth rattling explosions, shattered the night's silence, for the guards there was no escaping the building as it's final structure crumbled causing the building to topple in around them...their mass of screams were only heard for a fleeting few moments before the collapsing structure sent a cloud of dust and smoke into the air. Tails joined Espio and the two quickly made their way to the warehouse, they made it onto the roof in time to see about twenty more guards rush out of the building heading for the source of the explosions. Tails's gambit had paid off, if he guessed right there should now be no more guards in the warehouse at all, now whoever had started all of this would have to deal with him personally...

** 000 **

They carefully pulled away the skylight door exposing the warehouse's interior, it looked a lot bigger on the inside. Tails's long coat hindered him from flying, Tails climbed onto a catwalk that was suspended above the ground some height. From there he jumped onto what appeared to be some sort of storage capsule then to the floor. He turned to realize that this wasn't a warehouse at all...it was a storage facility. The storage container he'd used to get to the floor contained a familiar looking animal floating in a clear liquid behind a thick pane of glass...

"Nack?" Tails said in disbelief.

"That's nothing look over here..." Espio called from a few containers over.

Tails joined his friend and looked into the capsule in front of the chameleon...Espio was also in the tube, but this one had his full horn and had no scar on his face...

"Now this is creepy..."

Tails began walking down the long row of the tubes...

"Rotor, Bunny, Antoine, Sally...Kara." Tails stopped in front of the tube and read the small digital screen that displayed it's information, "Clone number 1571-6A: Kara Tennison...failure. They're all clones, Robotnick must have started with this some time ago...I didn't know he could do this..." Tails said running his hand across the cold glass in front of Kara's clone, "...they're almost perfect."

Espio joined Tails and looked at the capsule then to Tails, "Is that her?"

"Well...it could be almost everything is in perfect proportion...but...why dose she have two tails?"

"Maybe his procedure wasn't perfected...screwing wit DNA like that can have some strange effects." Espio said, he was still amazed he had a love for science...but this was beyond anything he'd ever seen before.

The warehouse was one massive cold storage chamber housing hundreds of rows of these failed cloning experiments. The two kept themselves armed as they walked from row to row. Everyone they'd ever known was here...but the most frightening of them all were the three empty chambers at the end of the fifth row...

Tails looked horrified as he read of the data, "Clone number 2711-2B: Miles Power...complete. Clone number 2711-3B: Knuckles Echidna...complete...and Clone number 2711-4B: Sonic Hedgehog...complete. They were all scheduled to be Robotisized...Oh my god...Mecha Sonic..."

Espio wasn't sure what he meant, "What?"

"Look Robotnick tried to make a perfect robotic copy of Sonic and Knuckles on several occasions right?" Tails pointed out.

"Right...but their logic circuits were flawed and could only learn within a set parameter."

"Exactly that's why they were all destroyed...the real copies were too smart..." Tails started again, "...but suppose he found a way to clone someone, but the procedure was incomplete. Then he finally gets it right and makes a perfect clone of someone powerful enough...then set that clone into the Robotisizer."

"A perfect war machine...a robot created through the Robotisization process is a lot smarter and stronger than your average swatbot..."

Tails was amazed at the lengths the doctor had gone through to end the war only to be killed by the youngest Freedom Fighter, "This hardly makes sense though..." Tails said studying one of the capsules that had been busted open some time ago, "...my clone doesn't look like it was transported anywhere, more like it broke it's capsule open and escaped...let's keep looking for that robot."

When they finally reached the end of the many rows they found what they were looking for, not one but two extremely reinforced capsules; one contained what looked like Sonic, every inch of him composed of a highly polished chromeatic metal, it had slightly elongated, thin ears, and it's eyes were simply deep black...it was obviously off line. The second was almost the exact same thing in the resemblance of Knuckles, the spikes on his gloves replaced by small blades, it was also obviously off line...A sound from the shadows caught both of their ears causing Tails to whip Dusk and Dawn in the sound's direction, Espio pulled a throwing knife with incredible speed but a gunshot sounded and the knife flew from his hand...

"Trust me the next will be on point." A familiar voice said from the shadows. "They're amazing aren't they...twenty times smarter and stronger than your average robot."

From the shadows approached a black furred, two tailed fox; his blue eyes looked vaguely familiar to Tails, he was dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans, even his shoes were black...he was pointing a large revolver at Espio and another at Tails...

"I guess the clone was a failure after all." Tails said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Miles...I did this to myself."

"And you would be?" Espio asked.

"A much better version of your friend...you see..." The black Tails said pulling out a white Chaos emerald, "...I've already killed Robotnick's so called 'Ultimate Lifeform'...though I'll admit he wasn't easy to find. Unfortunately, for some reason the emeralds don't seem to react to me. Then again once my two friends there are free I won't need to worry about that..."

Espio drew his sword only to have Tails block his path, "No...it's either him or me, you get out of here. Even if it kills me I'm ending this here and now...if anything happens here...tell her that I lover her, and that I'm sorry."

"Miles you can..."

"Espio you told me when I was young that there are some things that have to be done on your own...this is one of those things. Just wait in that clearing we were at before, if I'm not there in 30 minutes leave without me."

"You are certain of this?" Espio asked.

"Yes..."

"Very well."

Espio vanished into the surroundings and rushed out of the building and to the place they hid when they set up their trap for the guards. He waited for the predetermined time; Tails didn't show up but, Espio refused to leave. An hour passed by and he finally accepted what he had to do...as he turned to look at the building one more time the facility went up in an explosion so great that the shock wave, despite being over a hundred yards away, threw the chameleon into a nearby tree...he blacked out...

Espio came too over an hour later and rushed to the still smoldering rubble...he spent hours digging hoping he'd find no signs that Tails was still inside when the explosion went off...but fate was not so kind. He found one of Tails's pistols with the word Dawn carved into it's handle...as well as the tattered remains of the fox's trench coat. As the chameleon look at the pistol in his hands, he felt fresh tears begin to roll down his face...he didn't look forward to the first time he'd meet Kara, especially not to tell her that Miles was dead, but he promised the young fox that he'd do it, and with a heavy heart he returned to the hollow where their Ex-gears were left and slowly headed back to the city to deliver the terrible news...


	8. Fated

**Chapter VIII**: Fated...  
** (The warehouse before the explosion...)  
**

Espio had vacated the building as he was told and Tails was left to deal with this...clone...

"So...what should I call you for the last few minutes of your life?" Tails asked, both simply kept their pistols pointed at one another.

"Actually the Doctor gave me a name before he released me...Vyce."The black fox smiled, the two slowly began to circle one another. "He was lucky enough that you killed him when you did...you see, I was going to do so myself..."

Tails and Vyce seemed to move at the exact same moment each diving to one side while firing several rounds from their weapons. Tails took this moment to shed his trench coat as it added undue weight to him. Tails rolled out from behind the capsule that he was hidden behind and found that for some reason Vyce made the same move, they both fired several rounds before they broke out of their rolls and dove for cover once again...Tails could hear Vyce laughing from his position behind a capsule a few rows ahead...

"I guess you truly cannot top nature..." Vyce shouted, "...ten rounds and not a single hit. While you fire six and I'm already bleeding." He said breaking off into his laughter once again.

"Sounds to me like the last train's already left your station..." Tails shouted as he checked Dusk and Dawn's magazines.

**Yeah and it took all the passengers with it...**His inner voice added.

**What the hell'er you here for?** Tails asked.

**I wouldn't miss this for the world...uh grenade.**

**Huh!?**

Tails turned in time to see a pineapple grenade flying in his direction, and in a display that even impressed him, he snatched the grenade from it's thrown course lobbing it into a further row where it went off destroying several capsules...the bodies they held flew through the air. Tails ran from his cover down the main row of capsules nearby only to find his twin doing the same. As they came within so many feet of one another Vyce dove into the air while Tails dropped to the dirt sliding under him, as they crossed paths both foxes fired a single shot. Tails was hit by a short spray of blood as Vyce flew over him. The two instantly stopped and whipped their weapons around to face one another. Vyce's shot had clipped a small groove into Tails's right ear... but Tails's shot was on target driving a searing wound into the shadowy figure's left shoulder...both were breathing heavily. Vyce began to squeeze the trigger of the revolver in his left hand he winced as the firearm was released falling to the floor...

The two didn't seem interested in words anymore but Tails wanted a fair fight...he tossed Dawn to the ground and the two charged one another again repeating what they'd done earlier, neither of their rounds hit. Then again Tails wasn't trying to hit Vyce just to distract him. As they once again traded places in their face off a wide grin spread across Tails's face. Vyce noticed the grenade at his feet not a second too soon before he dove for cover slimly avoiding the blast...This time it was Tails's turn to laugh out loud...

"You know..." Tails called out as he checked Dusk's magazine**...Fuck! Dry...** "...If you were really my clone you'd have seen that coming." He said holstering his pistol, as he looked around he noticed a chrome .44 revolver in the dirt...**Vyce's gun**.

"I'll give you credit Miles...that was an underhanded trick...but rather invigorating..." Vyce said, "I'll admit...I'm a little scared...and I gotta tell ya...I like it. Makes me feel alive, truly living. So are you ready to draw out this little game...or can we work something out I'd rather not kill you."

"Then don't..." Tails replied checking the revolver which was full of ammo. "...but...you aren't leaving here alive...even if keeping you here kills me. I won't let you put her in danger anymore."

The two ran out toward each other dropping into a forward roll...as they came into a standing position they found themselves staring down each other's barrel. Perfectly imitating each other's movements the two grabbed the barrel of the opposing revolver quickly releasing it's reload spring causing the barrels to snap downward sending their ammo into the air. They both stood there not sure what to think...Tails tossed himself into a back handspring scooping up a single round and jamming it into an opened chamber before snapping the cylinder in place...he took aim only to realize that Vyce had done the same. Neither of them seemed sure which chamber their only bullet was in but they both began to pull their triggers in unison until they both went off. Tails was hit in his left shoulder which sent him spinning through the air a few feet before landing against a large pile of discarded parts...Tails's bullet had blown Vyce's right ear completely off. Vyce sauntered over to his downed opponent who's arm appeared to be buried in the recycled parts...

Vyce loaded his revolver again, "Any last words Miles?"

"Actually yes..." Tails said shifting to sit up as he smiled, "...Good-bye."

With an abnormal speed Tails ripped his arm from the spare parts; from his elbow down was a solid weapon that was humming with power as a light quickly formed at the opened end... a blast of light blue energy from the Technopathic weapon sent Vyce flying several hundred feet away slamming him quite viciously into one of the clone capsules. Tails stood up with difficulty the fight had been physically draining...

"H...how is this...ppppossible?" Vyce questioned as he stood up with great difficulty.

"Even Robotnick knew that DNA replication can't be perfectly done...then again he had no clue about my Technopathy either." Tails was trying to hide it but constructing such a weapon in so little time had drained him, both mentally and physically. As he stepped forward his knees buckled forcing him to use the elongated wrist cannon as a crutch...

"It's...too bad...your little ability seems to be so draining..." Vyce said, he seemed to be recovering but obviously had a broken rib or two, "...COMPUTER!! Initiate self-destruct protocol alpha two minutes..." The warehouse's alarm blared covering the building's interior in a red flashing light, "...I'll admit, I know now how you bested Nack...you're a hell of a gun fighter...it's an honor sharing you gene pool."

Vyce limped to the capsules where Mecha Sonic and Knuckles were being held and stood between them. He held up the white emerald...

"Don't think for one second that this is over...CHAOS CONTROL!!" Vyce and the capsules disappeared.

**CHAOS CONTROL!! **Tails's inner voice shouted**...HOW THE FUCK?!!**

Tails limped to a far wall and attempted to lift his weapon to destroy the wall...it was no good all of his strength had been spent. He searched around for a way to get out of the building but all of the exits had been auto locked by the warehouse's computer...

**Self-destruct imminent...one minute and counting...**

Tails hustled about the area, but the only thing he could find were more of those capsules.

**Self-destruct...in...four...**

**Three...**

**Two...**

**One...**

** that afternoon... **

Sally decided to stay with a very distraught Kara...she hadn't taken Espio's news well at all, and why would she have. She'd found her true love, only to have him taken away shortly thereafter. At the time Sally was sitting in a chair in front of Tails's room...Kara rushed inside as soon as she heard that she'd never see him again and hadn't come out for even a moment to eat. Sally was left with her for the shear fact that she'd been through the same thing before. While she was left there Sonic and the others returned to the warehouse to search for any remains of their departed friend...

"Kara please come out of there..." Sally pleaded as she heard the sobbing stop for a moment, "... I know how you feel, but you have to at least eat something. What would Tails really say if he found you doing this to yourself?..."

Sally screamed a little by the voice that sounded from behind her, "I'd probably start by telling her that I love her."

Sally shot around in her seat so fast that she fell out of it and quickly jumped at a savagely beaten Tails who at the moment was yelling in pain; in her need to hug him she hadn't realized how he was favoring his ribs...

"HOLY HELL!!! SALLY LET GO PLEASE!!!"

In the commotion Kara had emerged from the room to look at the so called Tails, "Espio said there were clones...how do I know this isn't some sick joke?"

Tails rolled his right eye as the left was swollen shut, "You have a tiny patch of white fur on you left butt cheek shaped exactly like a heart, you snore but barely loud enough to hear, and your favorite flower is a blue rose."

Kara didn't rush him in the fashion that Sally had, she noticed he was in far too much pain for any rough love. She instead hugged him very gently while still crying on his shoulder...

"Don't you ever do that to me again...understand?"

"This wasn't exactly a well formulated plan...otherwise I wouldn't have; a broken arm, cracked ribs, a bullet in my shoulder, or a messed up eye and ear."

Sally and Kara caught him by the arms as his knees gave out, "Look...I'm happy as hell to be alive...especially happy to be here with you two but...I think my condition calls for medical attention."

Sally made sure that Tails could at least stand with Kara's help, "Kara get him to my car outside, I need to get our things..."

Kara helped Tails down the stairs and into the back seat of Sally's small car, and got in on the opposite side holding his head in her lap. She looked happy despite the tears that fell to his face as he lay there...He paced his good hand on the side of her face...

"Kara...in case I...don't remember later...Will...will you..." He passed out in mid sentence...

** Three hours later **

Sonic had never been comfortable with emergency rooms...especially since it was his best friend that at the moment being examined for his many injury. Kara was the only one that had been allowed to enter the room with Tails. She eventually entered the room where the group of Tails's friends waited; Sally was at the time reading magazines with Amy and Julie-su, Sonic couldn't stop pacing the floors, and Knuckles seemed to busy himself with his thoughts. As Kara entered the disturbingly quiet room with Tails's doctor at her side...Sonic quickly rushed the raccoon who escorted Kara into the room...

"Well..." He said impatiently, "...how is he?"

The raccoon pushed his glasses up onto his muzzle, "Well Miles has suffered a number of injuries from his...encounter. 3 bruised ribs, a minor concussion, a broken arm, a bullet was removed from his left shoulder, and there was a degree of shrapnel we had to pick out of him. Whatever happened he was either in a gunfight or a war."

"But he's going to be alright?..." Sally asked as the others approached the doctor.

The doctor showed a bit of concern, "Yes...he'll recover, but he is extremely exhausted and has lost a large amount of blood. The fact that he was still conscious when he reached his house is nothing short of amazing...he must have done so on force of will alone. Just give him a day or two or rest here and we'll be able to send him home, but you'll all have to go easy on him for a few weeks at the least..."

Sally hugged the raccoon, "Thank you so much Tony."

"Not a problem Sally...I've been patching that boy up since we were all Freedom Fighters." Tony said returning her affection, "And you need to at the least come in for a check up soon...We need to make sure that baby is healthy."

"How long could the recovery take?" Kara asked.

"Humm...Oh, altogether he seems to be fine aside from being exhausted and in a large amount of pain. All he really needs is rest...he refuses to use the painkillers so he's well enough...or stubborn enough, either definition seems to work." Tony said, "So just give him a few hours and we'll be able to send in some visitors. He did have a request though...he wanted to know if Kara would mind staying in the room with him."

Kara agreed and followed the doctor back into the small, white covered room. Tails was laying in a standard medical bed under clear white sheets. The bandages that were wrapped around his head were red in spots where he'd been bleeding, his ear had been stitched up, and his arm was in a cast, but he seemed to be sleeping comfortably enough. She opened one of the two windows in his 16th floor room to let in the light breeze that was blowing outside...as she turned around to take a seat she noticed Tails's eyes had opened...he was smiling at her with a degree of difficulty...

"Hey..." He said weakly while wincing in pain at his sore ribs, "...I feel like I've been hit by a bus."

Kara chuckled to herself, "You look like you got hit by several."

Kara sat in a chair that she placed next to his bed, she seemed a bit depressed so Tails placed his good hand on her cheek and ran it over her hair. She placed her own hand on his as it rested on her cheek again...a few tears trailing from her eyes...

"You really scared me..." She said, "...I didn't realize just how important you were to me...until I thought you wouldn't be there anymore."

Tails managed to scoot into a seated position against his bed's headboard, he patted the spot next to him where she took a new seat, holding him but making sure not to aggravate any injuries, "Listen...It'll take more than an explosion and a clone to kill me."

Kara smiled inwardly at the vulpine's cockiness...

"Kara...there's something I needed to..." He cut himself off as she'd fallen asleep against his shoulder...

Having missed his opportunity Tails lay his head back against hers...he needed the comfort now more than ever. He soon drifted off...happy to be back in her arms. As he lay there staring at his closed eyelids, his last thoughts fell to how he'd explain all of this to the others...

** The next morning **

Tails was amazed that he woke before Kara, when he finally did wake he found that it was due to Sally shaking him lightly...Sonic of course stood to her side with an arm around her shoulders. Sally had a bright smile on her face as she saw Kara asleep against Tails's shoulder...

"Feeling any better?" She whispered hoping she wouldn't wake Kara, who she admitted needed the sleep.

Tails lightly scoffed at the comment, "It hurts to breath...and my girlfriend is asleep on a bullet wound." He replied, "I feel great...ouch." He finished wincing as Kara shifted in her sleep.

"How's Espio doing?" Tails asked.

"He's mainly okay...but the blast from the warehouse knocked him into a tree...he only suffered a concussion, and a few cuts." Sonic replied.

Tails smiled, "Lucky bastard."

"Hey...Espio told us that you could fill us in on this whole clone thing."

Tails thought back to seeing Kara's 2 tailed clone, "Well as far as I could tell from the hour or so I spent in the facility, Robotnick was also working with advanced genetics...The clones's capsules were listed in chronological order. His first tests were on the people of Knothole. But for some reason his last three were set for Robotisization...The clones from Me, Sonic, and Knuckles..." Tails stopped and readjusted his voice as he'd gotten a bit loud, "...The Sonic and Knuckles clones were already Robotisized, my clone on the other hand apparently wasn't as out of control as the two...he's the one behind all of this..."

"Did you finish the job?" Sonic asked.

"No...he's worse off than me but, he got away..."

"How?" Sally asked.

"Chaos Control..." Tails answered grimly, "...with a single emerald. He killed Shadow."

Sonic looked confused but decided he wouldn't ask, "Then how did you get out?"

"At first I gave up and was just going to let the blast take me out...but then I found out that some of the capsules were blast proof. I climbed in and it did the job of protecting me, the one I boarded wasn't bolted down and the explosion sent it though one of the walls. I'm guessing that's where I broke my arm...because it was fine when I got in..."

Sally looked confused now, "That makes sense accept for one point...how did you close the pod? If it wasn't supported, then it had no power supply..."

Tails went on to explain everything about his ability and before long Sonic and Sally were both a little hurt that he hid his ability, but were even more concerned for the future. Vyce had been weakened and injured, if he were anything like Tails he wasn't just sitting and licking his wounds...he was already planning his next move...but as they sat there thinking over the details a rather attractive feline nurse walked into the room; she carried herself well and had an impressive figure, that was only improved by her tight uniform...

"Mr.Power...It's good to see you're awake..." She said cheerfully.

Tails cast the nurse a sharp look with his index finger in front of his nose, "Shhhhh...she's had a rough couple of days." He half whispered to the cat.

"Hello Donna." Sally said.

"Sally..." The white furred cat kept from shouting, "...I heard the news, congratulations."

"Thank you Donna."

The white feline looked about for a moment, "Miles...I'm afraid your girlfriend has to go, the doctor needs to run a few tests before you're cleared for release."

Tails woke Kara up, as soon as she got over the embarrassment of having everyone see her like that with Tails they all left the injured vulpine with the nurse...much to Kara's distaste...

** 3 hours later **

Everyone went about their day after Tails was declared well enough to go home, Sonic assured him that he'd pass all of the 'clone stuff' on to Knuckles...Knuckles would be by Tails's house soon enough to clear up any of the information that Sonic was bound to screw up. Kara on the other hand couldn't be happier to have him home, Tails was thankful that he hadn't been shot in the leg, he wasn't sure how long he could take using her as a walking crutch. As soon as they got inside Kara rushed upstairs shouting that she had something to show him...As she did this Tails looked about the house; his gear had been returned and was sitting in it's usual place behind the front door, he walked to his lab, it hadn't been long since he'd seen it but he felt like it had been years; he went over to his weapon rack, Dawn was sitting next to it's sibling...he thought he'd lost her. Then his attention went to his coat; horribly mangled from the rubble that had collapsed around it, it's sleeves were damaged beyond repair...

He held a sleeve like an old friend's dying hand, "...**sigh**...It's gonna take forever to patch you up."

Tails eventually walked back upstairs, for some reason he though back to his fight with Nack and remembered that he'd been shot in the leg then; he looked down were his thigh was once bandaged...When did it stop hurting? He hadn't even realized that there was only a small round scar beneath the fur that grew over the wound which was no longer visible. He walked to the kitchen and made himself a small sandwich and a glass of milk...he hated hospital food. By the time he was half done with his food he began to wonder what was taking Kara so long upstairs. So he quickly finished his sandwich and milk then made his way to her room and knocked on the door...

...**No answer**...

He knocked again a bit louder...

...**Still nothing**...

"Look you're starting to scare me. I'm coming in decent or not."

The door wasn't looked...hell it was barely shut. He stepped inside and damned near fell, the room was void of light altogether. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see that there was someone standing at the far side of the room, who reached for a light switch. Tails was a bit stunned when he saw Kara...her gown was bright red and was almost fully transparent held onto her shoulders by thin straps that crossed her chest, the tiny thing only reached below her underwear, she was wearing a very shy smile as she blushed at Tails's open mouthed expression...

"It was a gift from Sally...more for you than me I think." She said resting her hands in front of her one on top of the other, "You like it?"

"Kara it would be a hard job for any clothing to make you look anything less than beautiful..." Tails said attempting not to stare too much, "...it dose catch the eye though."

Kara looked at the gown, "I'm pretty sure that's the point Miles..."

She started at him and let the gown fall from her shoulders...Tails actually looked a little worried, "Umm...is that a good idea Kara...I don't think I'm in any condition for that." He started as she leaned into him, nuzzling the side of his face while sliding her thigh up his leg a bit seductively. "I'm not complaining or anything...but you aren't very gentle at this...to be frank you can get a little carried away."

Her normal sexy smiled stretched across her face, "I'll be gentle." She said as she locked her lips with his with a very passionate kiss. Soon Tails returned her affection.

Even though he was only gone for a day, to Kara it seemed much longer. She turned him around and began to back him up until he tripped over the bed breaking their embrace. A little startled as he fell to his back in a bit of pain he reached out for something to hold onto...unfortunately Kara's bra was the only thing he could grab which ripped free under his weight.

Tails hit the bed with a painful thud that shocked his sore ribs, "Sorry about that..." He said in a pained voice.

"Don't worry...it wasn't going to stay on long anyhow." Kara said.

"You know how much I'd appreciate this...but I don't think I can really do this."

Kara carefully climbed onto his waist, "Who said 'you' would be doing anything?"

At some point Tails stopped caring about the pain...some of the things she was beginning to do overpowered anything else he may have felt. Once again he found all of his cares melting away and soon the two of them were once again in their own world, where they could be alone, just they way they wanted it...

** (AN: I still have no clue how long I'm making this fic...I have the story set up but it just feels like it's dragging out a little longer than expected...OH WELL!! ST HAPPENS!! Stay tuned for Chapter IX: When it rains...)**


	9. When it rians

**Chapter IX:** When it rains...

**(For those of you not really into the sappy stuff...SORRY...but this chapter had to get out of the way, and make room for the ensuing violent ending to this story. And don't fool yourselves...it will not be for the faint of heart...plenty of GORYNESSICITY** Odd fact people the spell checker thinks that GORYNESSICITY is a word...odd no?**...Enjoy what's left of the story and thx for the reviews...so far this fic is my biggest review receiver so keep 'em comin and I'll keep sending in the chapters.)**

** The next morning **

Tails began to stretch before the discomfort in his side nearly made him wake Kara up. Instead of getting up as he usually would have, Tails used his good arm, which Kara was currently laying on, to draw her closer to him. His thoughts were still on the other day...he'd come amazingly close to never seeing her again...He swore he'd ask her as soon as she woke up but, she slept longer than he'd expected and her hypnotically cute snore eventually forced him back to sleep...by the time he woke he couldn't remember anything...

** 000 **

The days slowly crept by and eventually turned into weeks, though he'd hoped otherwise Tails's arm seemed to be the first part of him to heal to a useful condition...at least he got rid of that fucking itchy cast. He began to think his ribs would give him grief forever...but over the passing weeks they too stopped hurting. He never could stop thinking of what had happened to Vyce...it was obvious that the clone did not possess Tails's Technopathy, so the fox would be forced to find another way to activate the Mechas...given that the animal had Tails's intelligence...it wouldn't take too long for Tails's darker half to figure something out.

As his wounds healed Tails and Kara delved back into their own personal world. Some days after work she would find him waiting outside to ride home with her. He had also decided to take it upon himself to teach her to defend herself in hostile situations...she developed a fondness for a custom .357 revolver that Tails no longer carried...with sidearms like Dusk and Dawn why would he? He customized the pistol even further to fit her specific needs and likes; he re-cast the pistol's metal structure in silver which made it shine brilliantly, he elongated the barrel slightly, and replaced the inlays on the handle with specially ordered ones made of pearl...As chance would have it he found that her birthday was only a day off and decided that the pistol would make the perfect present...

Tails was in his lab examining his work on Kara's present, twirling it around his trigger finger a few times before pointing it at a nearby crated and pulling the trigger, the hammer struck an empty chamber with a hollow click...

"Perfect..." He said to himself, "...it just needs a name."

He'd always named his weapons...he had a very close relationship with them, as all of the ones in his collection had in some way or other saved him at one point...As he thought to himself there was only one name he found himself able to engrave on the barrel...**Kara**. With the gun finished he waited for her to get home...he had a lot planned for her birthday in the morning...

** the next morning **

Tails as usual was the first to wake up, at some point or other the two unknowingly stopped having two individual rooms...Tails's hammock seemed good enough for the both of them, Tails could have cared less as long as he woke up next to Kara. Tails kissed his lover's cheek before carefully making his way out of bed, substituting himself with a large pillow as she tried to wrap her arms around him again...he rolled his eyes as she unknowingly nuzzled the pillow instead of Tails, he actually found the scene to be very cute...

He got dressed before going downstairs; he wore a pair of black pants and a white button up shirt. After making a pot of coffee he went to the door and opened it as quietly as possible after hearing someone knock very lightly; Sally looked like she'd just thrown up, Gwen was rubbing her back in an attempt to ease her stomach...

"Sorry Tails..." She said with a hand on her stomach which had begun to show her condition though only slightly, "...but I think I ruined your flower bed."

"Explain that to Kara...those were her flowers." Tails said, "Are you sure you're okay to help me with this?"

"Yes Tails...all of the others are busy, Sally and I are the only ones that can help." Gwen said.

"Alright then lets do this...she could wake up any time...but if I had to guess I'd give her about two hours...If she wakes up ahead of time I'll distract her with one of her presents."

Sally walked into the back of the kitchen where she started preparing Kara's cake Gwen on the other hand was stopped by Tails, "Hey...Gwen can I ask your honest opinion about something?"

The two had become close friends in the time they'd known each other, after all he was dating her best friend, "Of course you can...what is it?"

Tails looked toward Sally several times to make sure she wasn't looking in their direction. When he found she was busy with the cake he pulled something from his pocket and set in in her waiting paws... "Do you think she'll like it?" He asked.

Gwen studied the small light blue box and slowly pulled it open, she nearly dropped it when she saw what was inside but quickly snapped the box shut... "Oh my god...Is this what I think it is?" She gasped handing the box to him.

The red that covered his face was enough to tell her it was, "Tails...where did you get this?" She asked.

"It was my mom's...I've always had it with me."

Gwen hugged him, "She'll love it..."

"Look...don't tell Sally, I think we both know how carried away she'd get." He said placing it back in his pocket. "I'm gonna go check on Kara...see what you can do to help Sally...I still can't believe it's only the three of us here."

"I feel the same way but everyone is busy with their own things at the moment..."

Tails retrieved the pistol from downstairs, it was packaged in a wooden box lined with velvet cloth, and headed toward his and Kara's room...

"WHAT!!!?" Sally's voice shouted with surprise from downstairs.

**...Gwen you're never getting a secret from me again...** Tails declared to himself as he heard the sound of Kara falling to the floor.

Tails entered the room to find a nude vixen getting to her feet rubbing the side of her head...

"Hey...what the hell?" She asked.

"Sorry did I surprise you?" Tails asked concealing the box behind him.

"No...you scared the crap out of me." She retorted with her hand still on her head, "Man that hurt...how do you keep doing that without damaging your brain?"

Tails chuckled to himself, "Beats me..." He said stepping forward and kissing her lips, "...happy birthday."

Kara smiled and wrapped herself around him, "Awe...My present is so neatly wrapped." She said beginning to take his shirt off.

"Actually..." He stopped her, "...this is your present." He finished handing her the box from behind his back.

Kara seemed a bit disappointed that he'd interrupted her fun but opened the box in good faith; her eyes widened as she took the newly remodeled gun into her hand, finding it was customized to perfectly fit in her palm. Seeing her naked with the weapon made Tails's face turn red as he found it surprisingly arousing..

"That is the one you wanted right?"

"Yeah...but there really was something else I was hoping for." She said placing the gun back in it's box, she then turned her attention back to Tails and continued where she left off.

**...Well this could be awkward...** "Kara trust me..." Tails said taking her hands and placing them to her sides, "...nothing would make me happier right now, but Gwen and Sally are downstairs."

"And?" She asked lurching forward into a kiss.

Tails hastily broke away before he lost control of himself, "...And? Kara I'm not sure if you've notice but, those two would definitely hear us."

"It's my birthday...I don't care." She said backing up against him where she began to rub her body against his.

After realizing she'd gotten his attention she very enticingly walked toward the bathroom, swaying her tail from side to side teasingly. Something did distract him though, the ribbon on her tail...he'd never seen her take it off. Even the numerous times they'd showered together, it had always been there...

"Hey Kara..." Tails asked as he followed her to the bathroom, "...this is probably nothing and all but...what's with the ribbon wrapped around your tail? I've never seen you take it off. Which brings me to another point I never brought up...I saw your clone in that warehouse..."

"And?"

"It had two tails..." Tails finished, "...now it could have been a side effect from the cloning process but..."

"The ribbon belonged to my mother...I almost never take it off..." She replied, "...and I haven't got the slightest clue about cloning so..." She finished climbing into a hot shower, "...care to join me?"

** downstairs **

Sally was having some issues with her stomach and was forced to sit down, it seemed like the smell of food alone was enough to make her sick. Sonic had always been supportive, especially now that she was pregnant. The stress of their approaching wedding wasn't much relief on her nerves either, she often had a severe headache...

"You gonna be okay Sal?" Gwen asked sitting across from her setting down two cups of hot tea, "You look like something's troubling you."

"Not really troubling...it's just..." She paused for a sip of her tea, "...Tails. I guess he grew up so fast that, I sort of missed it. He was so small and scared when Sonic brought him to me...now he's nearly fully grown and...in love." There was a hint of subtle pride in her voice.

"Sally...he's a great kid, and he has you to thank for that...as for him growing up...I don't think there is a way of stopping that without committing murder."

Sally sighed and smiled a bit, "Those two up there really are meant for each other...I can't remember ever seeing Tails dedicated to anything without mechanical parts of some kind."

"Yeah...but back then he didn't have a hot little love toy to play with either."

Sally rolled her eyes with a sigh, she knew it was true but Gwen didn't have to point it out, Tails was like a son to her...she didn't want to know the specifics of his love life, "I mean if you heard half of the things I have you'd..."

"I don't do gossip Gwen...we've known each other for six years you should know that..." Sally said, "...besides Tails's love life is his own business...I have no right sticking my nose into it."

"I didn't stick my nose anywhere either..." Gwen pointed out taking a drink of her tea, "...but Kara is my best friend...she confides most everything in me."

"I don't think her sex life constitutes a problem..." Sally commented.

"Never know...Tails could always be doing something wrong for all we know."

As Gwen said this Kara's voice came from upstairs in a pleasured cry... "OH MY GOD!!!"

The two both turned incredibly red as Gwen started to laugh, "Wow...okay maybe not..." Despite her obvious embarrassment Sally couldn't help but laugh...she knew they weren't meant to hear that but the timing couldn't have been planned out any better.

** upstairs **

The two had only just finished their shower, they'd never actually made love in the shower before, then again Tails could've cared less about where they were, at the moment he was just a bit worried about that scream and the two that definitely heard it. He liked that she was showing her obvious appreciation for his efforts, her own efforts had deserved a bit of appreciation as well...now that he thought about it he didn't want this to begin with, but Kara had a way of manipulating him into giving her what she wanted. As he thought to himself he became convinced, she could probably talk him into doing "it" in public, and worse off convince him that it was a good idea...

"I think we should get downstairs..." Tails said as he swung the towel he'd dried off with around Kara pulling her back into his chest where he began to dry her body for her, "...we do have a hole birthday thing down there for you."

She loved the attention he was giving her at the moment, "Well...just remember that I hate big parties. So on my next birthday just lock down the place and the two of us can just spend the day together."

Tails rubbed the towel into he hair for a moment then tilted his head over her shoulder, "I'll keep that in mind..." He said with a smile which spread to her face. "Now get dressed and come downstairs Sally and Gwen want to see you for your birthday."

Tails made a hurry to get downstairs where he found Sally and Gwen talking to one another, far too low for Tails to hear as he poured himself a cup of coffee. The two were giving him the strangest looks, as he walked by with a yawn and headed down to his lab to be alone with his thoughts. He could hear the girls upstairs as Kara joined them at the table...he could hear laughter and Kara shouting about something...most likely teasing her from the incident earlier.

Tails sat down on his workbench and slowly drank his coffee, he didn't care about them teasing him, he just needed some time to his thoughts before he gave Kara her other present. He was certain of what he wanted but, he was just unsure weather or not this was the right time for it...Vyce could strike again at any time, that would only give her further cause to worry about him if his plans went through. As his thoughts passed he found that he needed another cup of coffee, giving Kara what she wanted had made him a bit groggy. As he stood in the kitchen pouring another cup of coffee he could hear the three girls, who were being disturbingly quiet, begin to giggle amongst themselves...he quickly turned to see if they were staring at him but they instantly looked away...

**They're talking about you...**His conscience pointed out.

**You think I don't know that? But what the hell are they saying?...**

**Girl talk, I don't want any part of it...**His inner voice said**...I mean we don't right?...**

**Your powers of perception are amazing...**Tails replied with deep sarcasm.

**Hey take it easy with that sarcasm pal you could hurt someone...**

**Oh just shut up...at least until you can think of a decent conversation topic.**

**Will do...**

This time as he walked by the table he felt something odd only to notice that Kara had slapped his ass. She leaned her chair back to an unsafe angle to smile at him, he simply smiled back and began to walk again, Kara's chair tipped and she let out a shriek of surprise. Tails in a snap reaction spun to one side sliding his right leg beneath the chair then kicking it back to it's feet...

"You need to be more careful..." He said kneeling beside her, "...and you're gonna pay for that slap come nightfall." He whispered in her ear as he stood up in such a nonchalant manner that Gwen and Sally didn't even notice it.

Gwen pulled Tails over to her, "When are you gonna give it to her?" She whispered softly.

"Sometime tonight...I want it to be special." Tails said as he stood up, "And I'm swearing you to secrecy on this...you already blabbed once don't do it again."

Gwen pulled him back down to muzzle level by his shirt, "But I want to be here for it...so dose Sally."

"Sorry...just me and Kara...nobody else or I may freeze up."

Before Gwen could get her paws on him again Tails headed downstairs with his cup of coffee, on his way taking his laptop out of a small drawer...

"What's going on? What dose he want to be 'special'? Gwen..."

Gwen looked at her friend with heartfelt eyes, "I'm sorry Kara but...it's something I could never spoil for Tails...you'll find out tonight."

** 000 **

It was 4 o'clock when Tails joined the three in the kitchen, there was a small amount of gifts lined up for Kara to open but first the two brought in her birthday cake and slid it onto the table...it was marked with a large candle shaped like the number 17. Kara made haste in blowing out the candle. She didn't even bother with her presents yet, rather she waited until they had all eaten their share of the chocolate cake; she first opened Sonic and Sally's present, it was a set of matching jewelry, a pendant and some earrings, each fitted with her favorite stone...sapphires. Then she opened the gift that was from Knuckles and Julie-su, this one was a beautiful crimson colored dress, with a matching pair of heels. Then there was one from every one of her friends at the bar...these almost all contained the same feminine things; perfume, jewelry, clothes the sort of things that girls often bought for one another...Gwen's however turned out to be a bit different, hers was a large photo of the girls from the bar Tails was standing next to Gwen and Sally next to him...She smiled at the picture though her eyes seemed to only be on the vulpine standing next to her best friend...

"I have another present for you but it'll have to wait..." Tails said, "...I made plans for dinner tonight." He finished kissing her on the cheek.

"Anything I should get dressed for?" Kara asked.

Tails smiled, "Entirely up to you. It would be suggestible though."

When everything was over and done with it was around 7 o'clock and Tails found himself alone as Kara had left to her room to get dressed. He had a plan in mind for the night...

Kara decided to sport her new dress, it was strapless and had a long slit along her left thigh, the matching shoes were slightly polished red to match the glow that the dress seemed to give off; she also decided to wear her new sapphire jewelry she'd gotten from Sally and Sonic. She gave herself a look in the large mirror that hung on the back of the bathroom door, spinning about several times to get a full look at herself...She smiled at what she saw hoping that Tails would feel the same about it, she thought about putting on some of the make-up that the girls from the bar had gotten her but, she really didn't care for make-up so she didn't bother. She made her way downstairs only to find a note in Tails's handwriting...

**Meet me upstairs, I'll be on the patio setting up our dinner...**

**Miles **

Tails finished his preparations, he'd cleared away the lounge chairs and instead set up a small table with a long white table cloth; there was a large round service tray on the table topped with a dome shaped lid, a single candle on a candle holder gave the table a faint light. He was wearing the best suit he had; a long sleeved light blue shirt, and a pair of black jeans. As he finished with his setup the door to the patio opened, he nearly lost his breath when he saw Kara, the dress seemed to accent every bit of her natural beauty, the jewels she wore matched her eyes perfectly...

"You look amazing." He said.

"So do you..." She said not hiding the blush in her face.

"What's the special occasion? It's just my birthday...I've had 16 before."

Tails pulled out a chair inviting her to sit, "True but, this is the first one we'll be spending together."

Kara kissed him before sitting down, "Hopefully not the last."

**You don't need to worry about that...**He thought to himself.

Tails sat in the chair across from her and pulled the lid off of the service tray on the table.Rather than a large platter from which two would be served there were two individual plates. The two almost said nothing accept for Kara's occasional compliment on the food or Tails's about how she looked. Eventually they had finished with their meal, for the longest time they just sat there looking at each other.

"Well...thank you for the lovely dinner Miles...but I'm getting tired." Kara said standing and starting to walk toward the door.

On her way by Tails grabbed her by the wrist, "Wait...this dinner wasn't the reason I brought you up here. I do have another present for you." He said standing up, "I-I've just...been a little...hesitant to give it to you."

Kara noticed that Tails looked incredibly nervous, "Miles...are you okay?"

Tails just smiled, "Yeah...I think so..." Looking into her eyes seemed to calm his nerves, "Kara, we've been together for nearly two months..."

"Right."

"I know that isn't very long but...with you it's long enough." Tails said reaching for the box he'd shown Gwen... "Kara...wow...this is hard."

Tails snapped open the box in front of her face, her eyes widened and she put her hand on her chest in an attempt to keep her heart in her chest, "Miles?"

"Kara I love you...and I never want to spend another day without you by my side...Will you marry me?"

Kara stumbled back a bit, she was speechless, as she snapped out of the shock fresh tears began to streak through the fur on her face...she couldn't find any words, her voice wasn't even there. She instead held her hand out to him, where he placed the ring on her finger. It was a single golden band which swirled into a spiral at it's top, there were diamonds inlayed about the swirled pattern. Kara was still stunned when she jumped into his arms, by now she was crying...Tails choked back all the tears that he could but, the damp streaks were present on his face as well. After so long of holding one another, Kara pulled Tails into a deep kiss, which led them back to their bedroom...Tails couldn't have wished for a better ending to his day. In bed with the one he loved, who had just agreed to spend the rest of their lives together, as he drifted off to sleep he thought to himself...

**Things can only go downhill from here...**He said to himself as he watched Kara sleep against his chest.

Unfortunately he had no clue how right he really was...

**(Well you all probably saw that coming from a few miles away...The next chapter will break into the darker plot of things...Leading to much violence and initially the end of this fic...though I still have no clue how many chapters I'm going to do...so far we're up to 10 which has been titled 'Black Sunrise' by my best friend and editor...He comes up with such pretty title names Dosen't he?)**


	10. Black Sunrise

**Chapter X**Black Sunrise...

**(This chapter's a bit shorter than the others...sorry people Flu's kick'n my a$$...but to make it up the next will be twice as long...also I've decided to extend the fic itself to fit more story to it)**

It had taken Vyce over a month to heal his wounds given to him by Tails...he was not informed that his opponent was Technopathic. It didn't really matter but, it did complicate matters much further than before. His partner stayed in the shadows at all times, Vyce had never even seen the man's face...but the man as he knew so far was a guineas, Vyce could easily compare his intellect to that of his counterpart...

Vyce turned away from the capsules holding his mechanized friends, "The cryptic systems on these pods are infuriating...no matter what I try I can't get through." He said punching Mecha Sonic's capsule.

"The encrypted program was designed so that it will change itself ever day at roughly the same time...that is why I need Miles alive," The dark figure in the background said in a malicious voice, " His Technopathy could crack that system without so much as a second thought...and I know just how to make him complaint..."

Attached to the arm of the man's chair was a small screen which he spun about to give his partner a better view of what he was studying...It was a picture of Tails locked in a passionate embrace with Kara..

"Bring that vixen to me..."

Vyce smiled at the picture, he now had an upper hand to play against Tails, "Right away, sir."

As Vyce left the building he could hear the man's booming laughter, "Then we'll see how far he'll go for her...before he dies with her."

**(Meanwhile at Tails's place...)**

Tails was cleaning his guns when there was a knock at his door...he slowly lay down Dusk which was in several pieces on his workbench, and made his way to the front door. He was surprised when he found that it was Espio who was visiting. He had something wrapped in a white cloth tied to his back; he was wearing a pair of black jeans and a matching muscle shirt...

"You appear to be well." Espio said as he was invited through the door. "And how is Kara? I hear the two of you are engaged."

"Wow...that got around fast."

"Come now...you know that as soon as Sally heard she called everyone she knew." Espio said pulling the object from his back, "Here..."

"What's this for?" Tails asked.

"A gift...for the most action I've seen in years."

Tails pulled a small string at one end of the five foot thing and the cloth fell to the floor; beneath was a beautiful katana, it's scabbard was wrapped in dark blue leather, the tsuba (hilt) was made of silver and was designed as a dragon coiling about itself, the handle was a bit longer than usual wrapped in the same blue as the scabbard, and as he pulled it free the blade gave off the shine of polished steel.

"It's beautiful...but I don't know how to use a sword...I mean I know the mechanics of it and all but, the art is completely alien to me."

"Yes but you'll learn...it's always a good idea to keep something like it on hand...guns run out of ammunition...those don't." The chameleon pointed out, "Then again; one man's pride seeks another man's poison."

Tails made some tea and set his new weapon on the table where Espio sat, "So any luck?" Tails asked from the kitchen.

"Sadly no..." Espio replied, "...wherever that Vyce character went, the place wasn't meant to be found."

"Great..." Tails said setting a cup before his friend and moving to the end of the table with his own, "...so, any ideas?"

Espio inhaled the sent from his cup before taking a small drink, "All we can do is wait...and hope his next attack isn't a full assault."

Hours passed before Kara finally made her way through the front door, she tossed her things on the couch and walked over to Tails kissing him deeply, she didn't even acknowledge that Espio was there... Who simply drank his tea and waited to continue his conversation, but he noticed the two foxes hands beginning to roam...He coughed into his fist...

"I could disappear but, I'd still be in this room."

"Oh sorry Espio...I didn't notice you." Kara said as they broke away from one another.

Truth be told she was used to having the vulpine all to herself, and was also used to having him whenever she wanted...

"Perhaps I should go..."

Kara took a seat on her finance's lap, "No...you came all the way here...maybe you should stay a few days, the couch is a bed."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea..." Tails said, "...we have a lot of things to do...I'd be easier if you were here."

Espio found no fault in the logic, and nodded finishing his tea, "Point taken...but do me a favor? Keep the love scene in the bedroom please."

"Sorry again Espio." Kara said climbing off of her seat, "Well I think I'll go take a shower before dinner." She finished rubbing Tails's ear before walking away.

Espio looked confused as Tails stared at his vixen while she walked away, he was leaning to one side so much that he nearly fell out of his chair. Espio turned his neck to one side to see that Kara was not only walking very slowly, but was moving her hips and tail from side to side as she walked, it even appeared a bit seductive to the chameleon, who scoffed a bit louder than he intended...

"What are you doing?" He asked Tails.

"Huh?" Tails replied blankly.

"Go..." Espio said tilting his head toward the door Kara had just gone through, "...I'll handle dinner."

"You really don't mind?"

"Miles...I've been in your position before...but instead of embracing her with every chance I got I took her for granted..." Espio said standing up, "...when the disease took her from me there was no going back. I regretted every day I didn't take her in my arms...don't make the same mistake." The chameleon finished patting the fox's shoulder on his way to the kitchen.

As Espio entered the kitchen he could hear Tails running across the floor and then a slamming door. He could clearly hear everything that was happening; some of the things he heard even made even him blush, but it was Tails's house, so Espio figured the two should be allowed to do anything they wanted. About an hour went by and Tails came downstairs still a bit damp from the shower. They all ate the grand meal that Espio had prepared, Tails and Espio afterwards headed down into Tails's lab where they talked over their next move but the day passed faster than it seemed it should have...

Espio lay on the couch without a blanket despite the obviously cold climate, and as they did most nights Tails and Kara slept in Tails's hammock, to allow Espio a more peaceful sleep they managed to keep the noise down, despite the fact that he didn't care. It was nearly 10 o'clock when Tails fell asleep...

Tails woke with a start as someone was calling his name very lightly...

"...iles...Miles wake up."

As Tails noticed a purple chameleon he attempted to cover Kara's body up, "What the hell are you..."

Espio quickly clamped a hand over the vulpine's muzzle while placing a finger to his lips, "Shhhh...Can you hear that?"

As Tails perked up his ears he heard a slight noise...like short bursts of gunfire at a long distance, Tails sat up in his hammock and studied the sounds for a moment...

"MX-9s...but those are military."

Espio was amazed as Tails managed to leap from the hammock without even causing Kara to move from her spot. Tails rushed about the room and got dressed then rushed through the door that lead to the patio...

"Ffffuck me..." He nearly shouted.

The city which was miles into the distance was lit up like dawn, the successive sound of military assault rifles could be heard more clearly. Familiar black ships floated overhead, screams erupted from the streets...suddenly the smoke trail from a scud missile slammed into one of the small ships, the explosion causing it to veer out of control where it exploded against a tall building, the shock wave made even Tails's house shake...though not enough to wake the vixen that still slept in his bed...

Tails rushed to her side, "Kara...KARA!! Wake up!" He shouted shaking her violently.

"Miles...what the hell?" She wined.

"They're attacking the city...get dressed and get into the panic room, Espio and I have to go help." Tails said quickly tossing her her clothing and rushing downstairs.

Kara climbed out of the hammock attempting to get her clothes on quickly, "M-miles wait..." She fell to the floor trying to get her pants on, "...what attack? What are you talking about?"

As she got the rest of her clothes on she rushed downstairs...Tails and Espio had already made it out the door. She turned to head down to Tails's lab but a sound caught her attention which prompted her to pull her gun, the word attack earlier had made her involuntarily place in the belt line of her jeans. She now holding her revolver close to her chest peeked around the hall's corner to hear a short hum followed by the front door bursting into splinters followed by a figure that rolled across the floor and slid into the kitchen...she realized with horror that the figure that now lay bleeding on the kitchen floor was Tails. She was equally surprised as Espio flew by, his back slammed into the refrigerator with such force that the doors both folded inward and fell from the unit on top of his unconscious body. Two figures rushed into the house toward the downed animals; one was an off colored chameleon that looked a lot like Espio, the other was...her...but with an extra tail. The two were wore a strange body armor made of an unfamiliar dark metal...

The real Kara didn't hesitate, she pointed her gun at the other fox and pulled the trigger...the shot from the powerful .44 caliber round jolted her doppelganger forward slamming it's head into the sink, the exit wound had completely removed the clone's face. She took aim again but, the chameleon had already vanished, she kept her senses open and looked for any kind of opening...Something heavy struck the back of her neck and the world faded to darkness...

** 000 **

Tails groaned in pain as he woke up on the couch, someone had patched his newly developed wounds; Kara's clone had used her claws to attack him, he didn't really see that coming, nor did he notice the large sonic wave rifle in the false Espio's hands. Majority of the wounds on his body now were no more than the minor cuts that were caused by his attacker's claws...He slid off his trench coat which was sleeveless now, he'd patched it up over the recent weeks. As he stood up he looked around...his house had been left alone, but, there was something missing. Kara's gun was laying on the floor... He picked it up and examined it; obviously it was the shot from the revolver that had produced the corpse in his kitchen...

He met Espio outside who was looking out over the still smoking city...

"They pulled out a few hours after I came too." Espio said, Tails noticed he was favoring his right arm, and there was about 7 dead clones on the ground, most of who where either dashed to pieces by a sword or were covered with sharp throwing weapons.

"I've already been in town...most everyone is either missing or dead."

"What about Sonic and Knucks?..."

"Missing..."

"Sally?"

"Missing..."

Tails hesitated to ask, "Kara?"

Espio sighed deeply with regret, "I'm sorry but...she's also missing."

"What about Gwen and the others?"

This time there was simply no reply...

Tails walked back through his house to collect his things; he slid his coat back on and added several guns to his arsenal, on his way out he picked up his sword. On the way out of the living room he noticed a CD on the coffee table marked 'Play Me'...Tails fetched his laptop and slid the disk into the computer's disk drive. The screen displayed his video player the dark screen was barely lit...Two dark figures stood before the camera one was obviously human while the other was definitely a fox...

"It's good to see you Miles..." A familiar voice grumbled from one of the figures.

The voice bore into Tails's skull forcing old memories to surface, rage filled his eyes as a light showed that Kara was inside a large glass tube, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! ROBOTNICK! I swear to god, if you lay one finger on her..."

The figure stayed in the darkness as he interrupted the furious vulpine, "She'll come to no harm...so long as you show up at the coordinates on this CD. Her life is in your hands Miles...good bye."

Tails was absolutely outraged, "ROBOTNICK DON'T YOU RUN AWAY FROM ME!!!" He screamed into the screen of the laptop slamming it several times into the table until table and computer were both destroyed.

As Tails's rage left him his his true emotions finally hit him, tears rolled down his face leaving trails on his cheeks, he failed to protect her again, and this time he had a chance to defend her ahead of time. He felt lower than dirt, he couldn't count on the words of Robotnick...he didn't even know how the freak was still alive. He could have cared less, his thoughts were all on Kara. Espio tried to comfort him but there was no hope...as far as Tails was concerned he was the reason she was gone, and now it was his job to get her back...


	11. Dark Days

**Chapter XI**Dark Days

Several days had passed since the unexpected attack on the city, Tails and Espio searched the city for survivors but, people were either, dead, dying, or missing. Because of the sheer volume of animals killed in the attack Tails and Espio piled the bodies into the city's square, where they were all burned, a sort of mass cremation...they all deserved so much. Tails still tried to pinpoint the coordinates left on the CD from Robotnick, but the data was heavily encrypted...obviously the doctor was trying to fuck with the stressed vulpine's head. Tails was at the very least happy that none of the bodies they found belonged to anyone he was particularly familiar with. By the time dusk set in the bodies were set ablaze; this set the smell of burning fur and hair into the air covering what was left of the city in the stench. Espio stood near the fire his fist resting in his open palm as he was saying a small prayer in a language that Tails wasn't very familiar with...The two stayed to watch the fire burn itself out, even when the torrential rains fell again they stayed...for Tails this was one of those 'Dark days' that would stick in his mind forever, he'd remember the sight of the attack, the sound of gunfire, and the smell of death on this day for as long as he lived...

The morning after the fire Espio woke Tails early as he was asked to do, there were a lot of things to do before they left. Tails armed himself with as many weapons as he could carry, he had full intention of bringing hell to Robotnick's doorstep. He was forced to one of his spare laptops out of his room...he had quite a few just in case...and set it up. Espio watched what Tails was doing; although the chameleon was very computer literate, he could not tell what the fox was doing...

"What are you up to?" Espio finally asked.

"Hacking a GPS satellite..." Tails replied sliding Robotnick's CD into the disk drive.

As soon as his computer linked with the satellite it seemed to upload the disk and display a pinpoint location, "There...that's where we need to go."

"Misty Woods...not a safe place." Espio replied.

"Yeah but...if we're going to find out where fat boy is we're gonna have to play along for a bit." Tails said, "You still got that communicator?"

Espio reached into his pocket and pulled out the small device, "Right here."

"Good...I have an idea..." Tails said, "...Grab your gear and lets go."

** 000 **

The Misty Woods were so named because of a thick layer of fog that settled on the forest floor, during a war long before Robotnick, the citizens of Mobius believed it to be haunted as nobody that entered seemed to ever come out. This myth passed when it was discovered that the woods were overrun with soldiers waiting to attack, the king sent in his own warriors and soon the woods were deemed safe for travel...unfortunately it wasn't too unheard of for a traveler to stumble into an old war trap that was left after the war.

The woods were far to the north, even past the ruins of Robotropolis; miles further toward the far coast. The trip nearly took the entire day. Tails and Espio got off their gears and set a camp near the edge of the woods, where they went over their things...

"Mind letting me in on this brilliant idea of yours?" Espio asked as he examined several throwing knives.

"Alright..." Tails said, "...the location pointed out on that satellite wasn't the point from the CD...it was Kara's ring, there's a small tracking bug in it." Espio gave him an odd look, "What? This has happened before...I learn ya know?"

"Obviously...so where was the signal?"

Tails paused, "Near the center of the woods..."

"You mean the bog?..." Espio asked, "That's all open space...if he is in there then we won't have any cover."

"No..." Tails corrected him, "...I won't have cover. While I provide the distraction you're gonna sneak in and get Kara out...and in the worst case scenario me."

"This is not your most sound plan Miles."

"I never said it was fool proof...just saying it's better than the two of us just blazing through there and getting smoked...besides if I got this figured right he wanted me alive."

Espio gave him a confused look, "And why would he want that?"

"I'm a Technopath Espio...I can override the lockdown codes on those Mechas..."

Something didn't seem right, "Hold on...why would Robotnick create lockdown codes he can't unencrypt? Doesn't make any sense...does it?"

"Maybe he didn't encrypt the program in the first place," Tails suggested, "Robotnick may be smart but I got a look at that program while I was fighting Vyce...even my Technopathy had a hard time understanding it...it was almost like the program itself was intelligent, and was blocking me out."

The two thought on this for some time...before they had realized it the sun had risen over the distant hill. Morning had set in a bit early; but nonetheless the two headed into the woods . They left their gears at the camp, they figured there would be far too much activity with guards and such...Tails had already warned Espio about the booby traps left during the old war, luckily Espio...being a ninja...was well versed in the making and detection of traps. They walked for hours until Espio stopped Tails from traveling any farther...

"What is it?" Tails asked.

Espio looked above them, and pointed something out...Dangling over their heads roughly twenty or thirty feet was a lattice like structure of wood. Tails and Espio both moved to one side and Espio reached down and pulled on an invisible line...the tripwire was well hidden. There was the sound of a snapping branch before a large square frame of wood covered in wooden steaks smashed into the ground. Espio took lead again and Tails followed behind pointing out traps as they came across them. The most insidious of them Tails figured was a small pitfall only meant to trap a single foot; as it was stepped into it would have driven inch long spikes into the calf muscle causing the leg to be crippled, then as the victim would lay there helpless, enemies would have no problem taking him out... It was a sinister trap that he hoped he'd never have the displeasure of falling victim to. They stopped as they approached the edge of the swamplands at the heart of the woods...Soon the two came to what was the swamp...

"Holy shit..." Tails gasped.

The swamplands had been wiped clean and replaced with familiar looking buildings that looked a lot like the ones in Robotropolis, far in the distance Tails looked though the scope of his rifle which displayed a disturbing sight...A transport craft was unloading a mass of animals who were being led into a large building like cattle...the scene looked all too familiar, it was just like when the Freedom Fighters were fighting Robotnick.

"What do you think?" Espio asked as he looked through a set of binoculars.

"Definitely a set up...he knows we didn't go to the meeting sight...but why load them all into one building?"

The two waited until all of the guards were gone...they'd all been replaced by clones instead of the common swatbots, every once in a while they'd see one that was Robotisized. They made their way to the large metal doors where there was a familiar voice...

"Sally! Sally is that you?" Tails yelled through the door.

"Tails!? Thank god you're okay! Where's Sonic?"

"I don't know...he wasn't in the city when I came to, there were a lot of dead people but him and Knuckles aren't there."

Sally actually laughed, "Probably got lost on his evening run...it happens sometimes...the lucky bastard."

"Where's Robotnick?" Tails asked.

"He's dead...what the hell are you talking about?" Sally answered.

"It's a long story...is Kara in there?"

"No...I'm sorry Tails."

Tails looked about for a moment until he noticed a large building with an antenna protruding from it's roof, "Espio take care of this. I think I know where she is."

Espio went to the lock on the door, "Good luck Miles."

Tails rushed off toward the building vanishing from Espio's sight who started explaining the situation to Sally as he went through code after code attempting to open the lock on the heavy metal door that held all of the animals in their prison...

**(Undetermined location on the far corner of the continent)**

Knuckles and Sonic are keeping a steady pace toward the city, they were out for a lengthy run when they were amazingly assaulted by their own clones...despite the fact that the clones were their exact doubles they managed to take them out with little problems...

"You wanna explain whats going on here? We just got attacked by ourselves back there." Sonic said while they ran.

"Tails said he was afraid of this...Vyce must have set all of the clones to attack the city."

"If that's the case it's time to kick the shit out of the sound barrier..." Sonic said building up his speed.

The two shot out of the small forested area leaving behind an explosion of sound as the two tore through the sound barrier. The sonic boom that was left behind snapped the trunks of several trees... Unfortunately for Knuckles this was the point where his own speed began to separate from the hedgehog's Sonic could move much faster than simply breaking the sound barrier, whereas Knuckles could do little more than run as fast as he was going...

**(A far off City)**

Rouge has been staying in the city for some time, at the moment it is raining but she still carries a large amount of groceries to a small white cottage at the edge of the city. She entered the small house; the living room is little and is also partly a bedroom and kitchen. She set down the groceries and pulled off her red coat; the black t-shirt beneath was soaked, as were the matching sweatpants she wore. She dropped her bags as a set of hands grabbed her by the shoulders...

"Goddammit Shadow! You blend in way too well to be..."

She was silenced as the black hedgehog turned her around stealing a kiss...

"What was that for?" She smiled.

"Everything...you're the reason I'm still alive..." He answered, at the time the only thing he wore was a pair of blue jeans...he started nuzzling the side of her neck, "...you're clothes are soaked..." He smiled, "...you should probably take them off before you catch a cold."

Rouge kissed him a bit deeper this time, "Maybe so..." She said shedding her wet shirt, "...say did when did you ever plan for us to go back? I know that you were trying to keep the emerald safe but...I just really want to go home."

"Anything for you Rouge...I'm all healed up, we can leave first thing tomorrow if you like."

Rouge tackled Shadow onto the bed several feet away from them...and sat on his waist, she unfastened her wet bra and tossed it to the floor...

"You know...I can think of at least one thing we haven't done in a while."

Shadow smiled at the notion, "You read my mind."

**(Meanwhile with Tails)**

The vulpine was busy searching the strange building he'd picked out, it was larger than he had at first thought. The halls branched off below ground like an ant colony; he took out whatever got in his way, making sure not to waste any time in killing any clone that got near him. His breaths became labored after he'd been running for hours, there was no way to tell where he was or where he'd gone, every hall was identical to the last. Despite his difficult breathing, he managed to run on searching room after room, killing anything that wasn't Kara. Finally he reached an empty room, he had to rest...he had no clue as to how long he'd been running but he was well aware that he was nowhere near the swamplands anymore. He'd been running for miles and this place still went on; he also noticed that the halls were spiraling downward after they had gone on for so long, then they straightened out again. He wondered as he attempted to get the feeling of fire out of his lungs, just how far below the surface he was, or how far he'd ran...He also needed to clear his thoughts, he could almost hear Kara's voice but...he'd heard it so often recently in his own head he didn't realize that it was coming from an vent just over his head. Forgetting about his burning lungs Tails leaped into up knocking out the vent cover before hoisting himself into the narrow vent shafts that were strewn about the structure. He listened for the sound which he found was coming from his left at an intersection; the vent was only narrow enough to allow him to crawl on his hands and knees, he attempted to make as little noise as possible until he reached another vent cover where he could see into a small room...just below him was the sight he'd been so desperate to see, laying in a bed. It was like a small prison cell...

Tails took notice that there were no guards, "Psst...Kara..." He said lightly getting her attention, "...up here in the vent."

"Miles you're okay..." She whispered, "...after what I saw at the house I thought you may have been killed. Is Espio with you?"

"No he's busy setting the others free..." Tails answered, "...are there any guards."

"No they just left a moment ago."

Tails dropped down into the cell and quickly took her in his arms...she seemed surprisingly calm for everything that was happening...but he could've cared less. It had been far too long since he held her, felt her warmth, breathed her sent...wait a minute...

"You smell different..."

He'd realized a moment too late what was happening as a massive jolt of pain surged through his body; the crippling pain of an electric shock sent him to the floor. As he lay there he could hear the imposter's laughter and the light buzz of a stun gun. He saw the vixen's face one more time, as she shook her head as if to clear her fur of water the golden color faded to reveal fur of Vyce's black luster...

"Too bad lover boy...wrong vixen...sweet dreams handsome."

Her boot connected with the side of his face instantly knocking him out...He came too in an odd room that was bare of anything besides a single machine with a large glass tube at it's center. As he cleared the blurriness from his vision, Tails realized what it was that was sitting in front of him. It was a Robotisizer, and there was an unconscious person inside...After some time the person stood up, looking around...his vision was still blurred but he knew who the golden furred splotch in his vision was. As his eyes focused the vixen slammed her fists into the glass tube...Kara was yelling something at Tails, but her voice stayed within the tube, there were tears in her eyes, and she'd been horribly manhandled, one of her eye was barely opened, swollen and discolored. The sight brought tears to Tails's eyes...he tried to get out of the chair he sat in but, he was tied down...

A laugh came from the shadows, "Lets play a little game Miles..."

The voice made Tails's face snarl into a near sadistic look, "You son of a bitch...LET HER GO!!!"

"All in due time..."

"You gonna show yourself or are you still the same lowlife coward you always were?..."

With that the lights in the room grew brighter until a familiar figure appeared from the shadows; it was Robotnick but, he'd been Robotisized...

"Impressive isn't it?" The fat metal man said, "The same device that saved my life from you...is about to rob that life from her, unless you'd prefer to do what I ask."

Tails took a long look at the vixen behind the glass, "I can assure you that she is the real thing..." Robotnick said pushing a small button on a remote.

Kara's voice burst from the speakers overhead, "Miles...don't you dare do it. Whatever he's trying to get you to do don't do it..."

"Turn it off..." Tails said lowering his head, it was her.

**So what'er you gonna do?** His conscience asked.

**The only thing I can do...**

Tails looked to the metal man, "I want to watch her walk out of these woods with my own two eyes. Then I'll do whatever you want..."

"Now you know that if you lie...I will sent every available unit I have to bring her back here and I assure you that I will personally crush the life from her body...and you'll watch every second of it." Robotnick said, "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes...just let her go."

**(Oh come on...You knew I couldn't kill Shadow without giving him a fair chance to fight back. Besides I happen to really like Shadow...if he dose die it will be with a lot more dignity, anyhoo hope you enjoy the story, I'll try to post the next chapter ASAP. Next chapter is 12 Unexpected Company...hmmm...wonder what that can mean???)**


	12. Unexpected Company

**Chapter XII** Unexpected Company

Tails and Kara were both loaded onto a transport craft; Vyce was there, as well as a familiar looking vixen; she could have been Vyce's twin, if you were to ignore the fact that her eyes were light green and that her dark hair had a red streak through it. Tails thought back and realized that this was the one that had stunned him in the cell...her figure was almost a duplicate of Kara's, it was easy to tell why Tails was able to mistake the two...

"You got a problem, foxy?" She asked as she notice Tails studying her and Vyce.

"Myrage calm down..." Vyce said in a calm voice, "...he's just curious as to why we look alike...isn't that right Miles?"

"Let me guess another clone..." Tails replied.

"Correct...rather she is the clone of an interesting vixen on another continent," Robotnick said from the front of the ship, "she was also a psychic...paranormal psychology has always been a hobby of mine since my discovery of being a Technopath myself...unfortunately when you attacked me four years ago I nearly died, luckily I managed to crawl into one of my Robotisization machines. True enough that it's made me nearly immortal...as a bizarre side effect the process seems to nullify psychic abilities. Myrage is gifted with one such ability...She can create a type of illusion over her own body."

"Unfortunately it's not a perfectly flawless skill..." Myrage said, "...I cannot disguise myself as a male, for obvious reasons. I can change the look of my body but not my figure." As she said this her exterior shed into an exact copy of Kara, which then faded away again, then she turned into Tails...it didn't work so well; her hair stayed at it's length, not to mention her breasts were still perfectly visible.

Soon enough the craft landed near at the edge of the woods...

Kara was led off of the craft who was followed by Tails, "Make sure to say your good byes Miles...you two won't be seeing each other for some time." Robotnick said.

Kara hugged Miles after they had been standing there for a moment...

"This isn't fair is it?..." Tails asked as he held her, "...I just got you back and now I'm loosing you all over again..." He said pulling her away and wiping a tear from her face, "...Listen, my gear is by that bush over there. Head straight south of here and within four hours you should come to the city...tell Espio everything alright?"

"I don't want you to go..." Kara said quickly burying her face in his chest, "...I love you."

"I know...but it's better me than you..."

"He isn't watching lets just go." Kara replied.

"I would but..." Tails moved the fur on his neck to reveal a small black collar, "...Robotnick's not stupid. Once we got a hundred yards away this would go off...1 pound of C-4, that's enough to kill me and anybody standing too close to me." Tails pulled her away, but kissed her gently before releasing her and heading for the ship, "I love you Kara...good bye."

** 000 **

Tails was returned to the base, and given a cell to stay in for the night while Robotnick readied whatever it was he had planned for the vulpine. The cell was smaller than any room he'd ever actually stayed in; there was a sink, toilet, and a bed everything made of metal. It had been arranged so that Tails's abilities would not afford him an escape. He was given a small pencil and a pad of paper to keep him from going nuts, he spent most of his time making small sketches of things; invention ideas, weapons, but mostly of Kara...he'd always been relatively good with art, at one point he'd thought about retiring and becoming an artist but, like so many other ideas it was given up for the fight against Robotnick years ago.

Hours passed by and soon Tails heard a knock on his door followed by a small slot opening at the door's bottom where a plate of food slid through...

"If it's any consolation...I can make sure she gets to your home safely..." A voice said from the other side of the door.

"Myrage?...What the fuck would you care?"

"Despite what you may think about us clones...we have emotions Miles..." The black vixen said, "...I don't know love myself...but it is something I've always wanted to feel...I'll let you know how she is when I get back, the doctor says he's going to leave you in the cell for today."

Then he was left to his thoughts again...What was Myrage playing at? Was she doing this just to toy with his head? She certainly sounded sincere. The questions repeated through his head and he soon realized that the only thing he could do is sit there and eat the slop that was served to him. It smelled horrible and tasted even worse, not to mention it looked like it had already been eaten, but he was starving and had no choice but to stomach it. His thoughts as usual eventually drifted toward Kara, which wasn't very hard at all considering all of the small sketches of her he looked at as he flipped through the note pad he'd been left with. The minutes passed like hours, he couldn't tell how long he'd been in the cell but he knew that it had already been far too long. As a guard walked by he tried to get the time but the effort was wasted, as the raccoon he'd asked simply walked by. More time passed and he felt as though the day would never end, the time just drug on and on, it seemed to Tails that time seemed to stand still in this place.

It seemed like an eternity before he heard footsteps again, when his cell door slid open he took a quick notion to bolt but, he recalled the device around his neck. He would've used his Technopathy but, Robotnick had already thought of that; the trigger was no more than a small transmitter and an electric charger, it was too low tech. He half expected to see Robotnick but instead it was Myrage again, who walked in shutting the door...

"She's safe...she...um...sent you something." Had he not known any better Tails could have sworn she was blushing.

"And that is?"

Myrage jolted toward Tails kissing him on the lips...

She pulled away with a slightly shy look, "Sorry..."

Tails was a bit shocked, "That's okay...as long as she's safe I could care less."

Myrage took a seat on the bed next to him, "Miles...do you think I'm...a freak?"

"Everybody is a little special...some others just scrutinize anything they don't understand..."

"That's not what I asked you?"

"No Myrage...no matter what anyone says...you're not a freak...Why would you ask me that?"

Myrage seemed to have a very different personality than when they were on the transport, "I grew up in an orphanage. One of the doctor's experiments to see if a clone like me could cope in a social environment; I may not have two tails like you but, this is not a natural color for a fox, then my ability started showing itself in random situations...you know how well a 10 or 11 year old would take that."

"I know the feeling..." Tails said, "...my parents died when I was still an infant...I was a lot smarter than any of the others, that was kind of one of the reasons I was pushed aside. That isn't always the case though, eventually someone comes along and helps you crawl out of the hole you dig yourself into. For me that person was Sally..."

"How did you find her?" Myrage asked.

"Actually she found me...sort of..." Tails replied, "...I was in the woods, the kids from the orphanage chased me out of the picnic area our group was in and I got lost. I was maybe five, that was when Sonic found me. He took me back to Knothole and Sally took me in...she's like my mom."

"I wish I was so lucky..." Myrage said picking up Tails's notebook and flipping through the pages, "...Robotnick came and took me away from the orphanage when I was 13...Pretty fucked up...just when you turn into a teenager you're told that you're some kind of crime against nature."

Tails sighed he could only imagine what she'd been through, "It's never too late to find that person, you know."

"So what are you implying? That I help you escape and live in your quiet little city until Robotnick kills us all?" Myrage retorted a bit offensively.

"Would it really be so bad living a normal life? Having friends? Family? People who care about you?"

Myrage seemed to stay silent as she stared at one of Tails's drawings of Kara...

"How dose it feel?..." She finally asked, "...you know...to love someone. To place their life in a higher regard then your own."

"A much better feeling than you could ever imagine..." Tails said placing his paw on hers, "...look one way or another, I am getting out of here and going back to Kara...and if a real life is what you want then you're more than welcome to come with me. You'd see that the people I know come from all sorts of fucked up backgrounds, nobody'd judge you there...not for a second."

"Kara was very quick to assume the worst..." Myrage said.

"She didn't see the side of you that I'm seeing right now..."

Tails could have been mistaken but he could swear he saw tears in her eyes...

"You really mean to take me with you..."

Tails scoffed, "Of course...but there is one condition..."

"What's that?"

"Don't you ever taze me again...I cannot tell you how much that fuck'n hurts."

Myrage made a strange sound as she tried to muffle her laughter by clamping her muzzle shut, but it didn't work...

"Are you always this optimistic?" She asked between her breaths.

"Yeah most of the time...really pisses Knuckles off someti..." Tails froze as he studied her face, she had a bright, warm smile, "...is that a smile?"

The comment caused her to shut her mouth, "NoNo...I prefer the smile. It's a lot nicer than that look that says "BURST INTO FLAMES"..."

Myrage chuckled at the comment, "I wish I would've met you when I was still in the orphanage." She said standing up and heading for the door, "You'll get an answer...either from me or Robotnick...him if it's a no me if it's a yes."

"Works for me."

**(Somewhere a far ways south of the city) **

Shadow delivered on his agreement with Rouge, they didn't bother packing anything for the trip. Shadow simply carried Rouge while traveling at his normal amazing speed. Though he moved at insane speeds it was slower than he could have run but, there was no way he'd risk hurting her...At the time she was asleep with her head against the side of the black hedgehog's face. After Vyce's surprise attack on him Shadow was nearly dead...and it was all the doing of the white bat girl in his arms that kept him alive through the whole thing. He had no clue she was such a gifted medic when he agreed to run away with her two years ago. Though at the moment his thoughts were of the fact that the two of them could have been at the city hours ago, if only he hadn't lost his chaos emerald in his fight with Vyce...

**I swear if I ever meet that kid again, I'll rip him apart with my bare hands...still that little creep looked a lot like Miles, could be a connection. Hopefully either him or that idiot Sonic can explain something about him. **Shadow thought to himself.

**(Sonic's house) **

It took some time but Sonic and Knuckles had finally made it back to the city...luckily by that time Espio had already gotten Sally and the others out of their prison and back into the city. It was not long after everybody was filled in by Espio that Kara showed up, she was still crying even if only slightly, nonetheless Sally was fast to comfort her...

"What happened?...where's Tails?"

Kara started telling everyone what had happened, slowly over an hour or so she managed to calm down long enough to tell the whole story, about how Tails had given himself up to allow her to go free. She also explained everything she could about the strange black vixen that had helped her...but telling the story about Tails and what he may be going through soon made her lapse into incoherent sobs again. Sally took Kara to her and Sonic's room and after about thirty minutes came back out...

"How is she?" Sonic asked.

"Poor kid finally cried herself to sleep..." Sally said looking from the door to Sonic, "...Sonic you guys have got to get him out of there."

Sonic sighed, "Sally I wish it were that easy...but you know that kind of collar that was she said Tails was wearing, you also know what it'll do if Tails leaves that base...We can't help him...but I know who can...Espio you get to that base and do what you can...I'll send backup as soon as it gets here...I got a phone call to make."

**(An unknown residents...) **

A dark figure answers a black cell phone with a raspy, deep voice...

"Sonic?...You're not supposed to call me."

Sonic explained everything...

"Miles?...What kind of trouble?" The person asked, "...Robotnick? I thought he was dead..."

Sonic explained some more...

"Anything else I need to know?" The person asked, "In that case I'll do what I can...call me back at this time tomorrow...later..."

**(Sonic's house) **

Sally had just found out who Sonic had called and was none too happy about it...

"Are you out of your mind?!" She shouted in the hedgehog's face, "He's supposed to be in hiding...you know what'll happen if Robotnick gets a hold of him!!!"

Sonic took Sally by the shoulders attempting to calm her down, too much stress couldn't be healthy for the baby, "Sally!" He almost shouted, "Get a hold of yourself and think...He may be the only person that can get Tails out of there alive, especially if Espio is with him. Knuckles and I are going to head that way and see if there isn't something we can't do to help."

That was about the time the door swung open with Shadow standing in the doorway with Rouge in his arms, "If it means getting my hands on the little black bastard that attacked me...I'm going too."

"SHADOW!!! You're alive Tails was told you were dead." Sonic shouted as Shadow lay Rouge who was still sleeping on their couch.

"Sounds like someone should have made sure he finished the job...cuase he's not getting a second chance. I'll explain the whole thing later..."

"I think we both have some things that we need to explain to one another..."

"What are you waiting for then you moron..." Shadow said, "...get whoever you were taking with you and lets go." He finished shooting out of the door.

"Sorry Sal..." Sonic said kissing Sally good bye, "...we'll be back with Tails soon enough." He finished speeding out of the house in the same fashion as Shadow.

** (Tails's cell...) **

Tails was still waiting for Robotnick to come for him, apparently there had been some sort of delay with the equipment that Tails was meant to use. Tails of course didn't mind, as nobody knew that the drawings in his notepad were plans on how to get the collar off of his neck...though the design was too simple for his ability to mess with he could still see each individual part by touch alone. Because of his Technopathy he had detailed designs drawn out to the entire collar...

**It's so simplistic...I don't even know where to start. **Tails said to himself studying the blueprints.

**You could always reroute the main transmitter...**His conscience spoke up.

**Yeah...if it didn't have a fall back...**

**What about the receiver? Cut that out and it can't get a signal anyhow.**

**No...it's designed to go off when it doesn't get a signal...**

**Well then there's an obvious solution...**His inner voice said**...Rewire the main transmitter into the receiver, then it'll mistake it's own radio frequency for the transmitter's.**

**Well...that is the way this thing works. The collar's transmitter is directly linked with the system transmitter, but it's signal only so strong, step out of the signal's range, loose your head in a violent explosion...If I reroute the collar's transmitter into the receiver it could provide the collar with a constant signal...the question is does Robotnick have a remote detonator? Some of the components in this thing could imply that he dose but I can't be sure, this thing is made out of such simple parts, I barely know what's what.**

**Then maybe if we get out of this you may want to brush up on the basics...**His conscience pointed out.

**Yeah...this is one of those times that makes you wonder why you bother to forget things.**

**Well maybe if you spent more time with your work and less time thinking about Kara...your mind might not be so slippery...**

**If you're going to get off subject just go back to whatever it is you do...speaking of which; what good are you besides an obvious pain in my ass?**

There was a stall for a moment**...Hmm, beats me. As far as I know my only two jobs are; giving advice and being a royal pain in the ass...and on the occasion both at once...**Tails laughed lightly**...What's so funny?**

**Nothing really...just the fact that I'm sitting her carrying on a conversation with myself...**

**Don't look now but you've got a visitor...**

Tails looked to the door only to see a pair of blue eyes through a small slit, he studied the eyes for a moment...he knew who it was he was just waiting for Vyce to say something...but there was nothing, the black furred fox just stood there staring at him, rather hatefully. After a few minutes of this Vyce turned away and walked off down the halls, mumbling something to himself. Tails could hear the echo of his fist striking the metal wall far down the hallway, something was deeply bothering Vyce, and whatever it was it had something to do with Tails.

Tails attempted to overlook the odd behavior Vyce had displayed and went about his day of sitting on his bed, drawing sketches of Kara, and working on his plans to get the collar bomb off of his neck. The minutes passed like hours; he found himself at a point of boredom that he did something he rarely did anymore, exercise...push-ups, sit-ups, anything he could do to take his mind off of the nearly painful boredom. After a time his lunch was brought to him as well as word that his assistance would have to be held off until tomorrow as the equipment was still not ready, he knew it was a lie...Robotnick was toying with his head...making him wait...possibly thinking of something horrible to do to him after his usefulness was worn out. The food he was given was the same slop he'd been given before but now that his stomach knew how bad it was, it was a bit easier to take in. He ate the food, happy to have a mug of water to wash the taste away with. When he finished his...'meal' as he expected Myrage came to his cell, this time she brought a chair with her. She looked horrible, there was a split in her lip, and her left eye was swollen shut...

"What the hell happened to you?" Tails asked rushing over to check her injuries.

"Vyce...he heard what you said yesterday," She mumbled, "The Doctor decided to make an example out of me...I think he broke my wrist."

"You shouldn't be treated like this..."

"It's not the first time..." She said wincing as Tails examined her obviously busted wrist, "...I have what Robotnick calls a free spirit. That's always something he tries to discourage, if too many of us got it in our minds that we didn't need him...it'd be hard for him to fight back."

Tails looked her in her good eye, "I won't sugar coat this...it's gonna hurt like hell." He said as he took her by the hand and forearm.

"Just do it..." She said closing her eyes and turning her head.

Tails counted to himself and as he hit three he pulled on her wrist twisting slightly until he heard the affirming crunch of the bone setting back into place. Myrage was at this point holding her own muzzle shut, tears streamed down her face even after Tails had shredded his only sheet to wrap the injury...

"I'm sorry that hurt so much." He said as he continued to wrap her wrist.

Myrage looked at him, "It's okay...thank you."

"So what's your real name?" Tails changed the subject.

"What?"

"Oh come on...you can't expect me to believe that your actual name is Myrage..."

She chuckled until she felt a pain in her wrist, "It's Myra okay..."

"Well then...did you think it over?"

Myra smiled as much as possible over the pain and produced a small key, "Does this answer your question?"

"Not really what is it?"

She smiled and set the key in his hand, "It's the key to that collar..."

Just then a familiar voice echoed from the air vent, "Miles?..."

"Hang on..." Tails said walking over to the vent, "Espio? Issat you?"

The purple chameleon faded into sight withing the air vent, "Of course it's me...Who is that with you?"

"This is Myra she gave me the key to this collar..."

"Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles are outside waiting for me to bring news..." Espio said, "...can you get out of here if we provided a distraction?"

"Shadow?"

"Long story...unfortunately more lengthy than the time we have here. Sonic also called in back up, I don't think I need to tell you who..."

"As long as it wasn't Lynn...we can't risk him showing himself...it's best off if Robotnick still thinks he's dead."

Espio looked a bit disappointed, "Well get that thing off your neck and give me about ten minutes to get out of here. You'll know my signal when you hear it."

Myra's face seemed to ask a thousand questions, "I figured Robotnick filled you in on my friends; but that was Espio..."

"And Lynn?" Myra asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Tails said, "Look, knowing Espio his signal is going to be pretty big...maybe even an explosion...but that's not the point." He said putting his hands on her shoulders, "If you want to come with me this would be the time to make up your mind..."

"Miles my mind is made up...I'm going with you..."

"Alright...do you think you could get my weapons?"

"Not a problem I'll be right back."

Myra left the room and after a few minutes re-entered the room with a small bag on her back. Tails helped her get the pack off and began to set his gear in it's proper places; he still wasn't used to carrying a sword but it was a gift from a good friend, soon enough he had his trench coat back on and was fully equipped with his things. It wasn't five minutes later that the base went dark and was filled with a dense light as well as a blaring siren, apparently Espio's signal was the result of his expertise in espionage as he cut the base's power supply. The two foxes took a deep breath and rushed out of the room; despite her broken wrist Myra seemed to move relatively fast for a normal fox...well as normal as a clone could be. After a few minutes of running through the seemingly perpetual halls Myra stopped Tails...

"This way is shorter..." She said leading him though the large door near them.

** 000 **

The door led into a large room...a hanger, there were jets of all kinds there from all sorts of different places. There was even a copy of Tails's old jet the X-tornado. In the back of the large room was a massive lift meant to get the jets to the surface. There was an entire fleet, it was obvious that Robotnick had more in mind than just a small city on Mobius...he had enough jets to take over several cities at once. As the two made their way through the hanger Tails slowly took note of his surroundings. They stopped on the lift and Tails started to work on a small control panel...but before he could activate the lift something hit him from behind which sent him to the floor rolling out off of the lift..

Tails pushed himself out of his roll and landed in a knelt position with Dusk and Dawn aimed at Vyce who was now standing in Tails's place holding what looked like a sword.

"Care to try this a bit differently this time?" He asked scraping the tip of the weapon across the metal floor.

Tails looked to Myra who was now hiding behind a crate at the far end of the lift...then back to Vyce who was wearing a cocky smirk. Tails dropped his guns, then removed their holsters. When there was nothing left but his trench coat and his sword he took it from it's sheath and held it in a manner he'd seen Espio hold such a weapon before, this stance placed the weapon slightly above his shoulder with the blade pointed directly at his opponent. Vyce chuckled a bit then rushed forward, he knew how little experience Tails had with hand to hand weapons, from his instant reaction one would never have guessed that Tails had never lifted a sword before His reactive guard as well as his counterstrike that sent Vyce retreating into his original stance suggested that he'd been doing this for years. The two exchanged attacks for a minute or so before the two broke away...Tails wasn't used to this type of fighting and was becoming winded...There was now a long shallow cut on Tails's forehead, there was a slightly deeper one on Vyce's arm. The two leaped at each other, their weapons rung with the sting of metal on metal as the weapons collided in mid-air; as they did Vyce shifted his body weight swinging himself below Tails kicking the vulpine in the gut which sent Tails to the ground out of the flipping maneuver and slid a few feet before flopping onto the metal floor of the lift...

Tails attempted to stand but, he was spent; the mixture of fatigue from his time in his cell, and his lengthy running had made him comparably more weak than before. Vyce noticing Tails's obvious state of weakness rushed in again; Tails barely found it in himself to block and sway the strikes, even though some of the attacks grazed him leaving small razor cuts on his body...but his defense faltered. Tails screamed in pain as the tip of Vyce's sword sunk into his shoulder, Vyce pulled the weapon as he spun behind Tails and slid the edge of his blade diagonally across his back dropping him to his knees...

Tails instantly realized that something was wrong as his vision was already blurring, "Hurts a lot more than a bullet doesn't it? Well it looks like I found something that you don't excel at eh?" Vyce said as he began to slowly walk toward Tails.

Tails could feel Myra who had rushed over to help him, "Too bad you had to turn on us..." Vyce said to Myra, "So now you're going to have to die too...such a waste."

Myra closed her eyes and held onto Tails as she saw Vyce raise his blade, but other than a slight pain in her stomach she couldn't feel anything. She opened her eyes to see that Vyce was frozen in place with his blade a few inches away from her face She also notice that her vision was blurring a bit. As she watched on something shot from the shadows slamming into Vyce, who flew through the air slamming limply into a large metal crate he was still frozen when he hit the floor...Now standing before Myra was a silver furred wolf in a long red coat, there was a long jagged scar that scaled down the side of his face, his long silver hair was tied along the left side of his face in several small braids,, under his coat which didn't seem to have a means of closing in front was a white undershirt and a pair of black pants, strapped to his thighs were a pair of curved blades with thick wooden handles. As he stood there the feeling in Myra's gut went away and Vyce began to move again...

The wolf tossed a small pill like object to Myra, "Jam that into the stab wound..." He said.

Myra wasn't too sure about the wolf but did as he said...and despite Tails's cries of pain she pushed the object into his shoulder's opened wound. A few seconds went by and a strange green foam seeped from the wound. She realized that the foam that came out of the pill was to stop the bleeding and stop any bleeding arteries...it was an ingenious device...

"Get onto the lift and get Miles out of here..." The wolf said pulling the two blades holstered to his thighs.

"And who the fuck are you?"

"You can just call me your maker...nice to meet you." The wolf said twirling his large knives.

"So...that's how you did that back there...you must be that **"Jumper"** that the Doctor was going on and on about. He's been given the idea that you're dead." Vyce said taking a fighting stance, "Too bad you can't Jump too many times..."

The wolf laughed lightly as he took a fighting stance of his own, "Boy...you've got no clue who you're fucking with. But that'll change soon enough..." The wolf switched one of his blades so that he was holding it in a reversed manner with the blade laying against his forearm, "...lets see how well you stack up against a real fighter."

As the lift started up Vyce sped toward Tails...he had full intention of killing Tails. Unfortunately it turned out that this wolf was much faster than Vyce, the silver lupine appeared before Vyce and delivered a forced kick to the fox's chest that sent him sprawling to the ground several feet away. Vyce stood up with an enraged look on his face. The wolf smiled and signaled for Vyce to try again; this time Vyce seemed to rush the wolf with a murderous intent, his strikes were throw with speed and precision but, as Myra watched from the steadily raising lift the wolf seemed to match anything Vyce could throw at him, but soon the lift reached a height were the only part of the fight that was visible in the darkness below was the spray of sparks from their weapons...

As the lift reached the top of the shaft the sun came clearly out as a large door slid open above the two showering them with sand, the lift exited into an opening in a nearby desert near an oasis. Myra had already noticed that Tails was unconscious, and was struggling to get him back into his senses when the lift stopped. It took her several minutes to wake him up, she was forced to help the still groggy vulpine to his feet so that they could walk into the clearing away from the lift, which after a minute or so automatically headed back down the shaft. Myra turned fearful as the lift began to resurface, Tails expecting the worst pushed himself in front of her...

The lift finally crashed to a halt but there was no one aboard...Tails stepped forward despite the grogginess from recently being unconscious. Suddenly Vyce shot from a concealed spot between two large storage crates thrusting his sword at Tails's head...Tails barely swayed the blow, the sword's tip scratched a cut into his golden fur, and took his own grip on the weapon's handle. The two struggled for control of the weapon, and the lift headed back down again...Now the two were standing on the edge of an increasingly long fall. Tails realizing that he was not going to win the struggle unsheathed his claws and swiped his right hand across Vyce's face, who in an instant of pain dropped the sword into the elevator shaft, which was now a full hundred or so feet down. Tails took to the fight swiping his claws at his opponent in various manners...he had reached his limit, the rage boiled inside of him, Tails no longer had control of himself. During their new scuffle Vyce attempted to grapple Tails but, Tails was in a state of feral rage and retaliated in a manner that he originally wouldn't have and sunk his razor sharp teeth into Vyce's forearm causing him to instantly retract his grip. Vyce then rushed the enraged fox tackling him to the ground...Somewhere amid their rolling in the sand, punching and clawing one another, Tails managed to regain control of himself and reached into his pocket where he'd put the collar...he quickly snapped it around Vyce's neck activating it's trigger. Vyce quickly leaped to his feet only to have Tails leap off the ground planting both feet into his chest...Vyce's scream could be heard during his entire trip down the shaft followed by an earth shattering explosion. The wolf from before flew out of the lift's shaft on a red gear board and stopped in front of the two...

"Get on now!!" He screamed.

The two quickly complied and the board began to pick up speed as it flew over the sand of the small Mobian desert...

"I owe you one Lynn..." Tails said to the wolf as they could hear a loud series of explosions from the base.

"Just make me a faster gear and we'll call it even Miles..."

"You got it..." Tails replied, "...now lets get the others so I can get to a hospital...again."


	13. Home

**Chapter XIII**: Home...

**(two days after Tails's escape) **  
The doctors at the hospital decided that it was best to keep Tails over night; the stab wound in his shoulder had nicked an artery and it could have been very easy for him to bleed to death if it were to open up again. His body was heavily bandaged from the cuts left by Vyce's sword and claws...now that he thought about it he preferred being shot. Tails was a bit hurt as he'd noticed that Kara had not come to see him, Sonic had informed him that she was helping Espio fix their place, but for some reason Tails thought that it may be more than that. Myra visited on a daily basis, she'd already made some friends, and Gwen had agreed that she could stay with her...Tails had no doubt that the kid would end up working at the bar. The only two in his room at this early hour of the morning was a silver wolf and a blue hedgehog...

"It's good to see that you're doing alright Lynn..."

"And it's good to see you're still getting into trouble..." Lynn said with a slight grin.

"Seems to be an everyday thing these days..." Tails replied wincing at the pain in his back as he sat up, he'd forgotten about the cut.

Lynn sat down on the side of the fox's bed, "Now would be a good time to fill me in on what I saw back at that base...Who was the black fox that looked like you ?"

Tails and Sonic both told the story as best they could, it seemed that this story was getting longer and longer the more times Tails was forced to tell it. After filling Lynn in on everything Sonic took it on himself to leave the hospital, he claimed that he had business. Lynn however stayed behind...

"So when are you going to introduce me to your...girl?" Lynn asked.

"I would say as soon as I get out of this hospital..."

"Then you're gonna introduce me to that other girl...right?" Lynn asked with a crooked smile.

"Huh..." Tails looked at him, "...Oh...you mean Myra. No problem."

Lynn walked over to the window, "The town looks pretty fucked up. It was worth coming here though...I got to see everybody again...I didn't expect Master Espio to be here though."

"Yeah he's been hanging around here a lot recently..."

"You also need to learn how to use that sword better..."

"You were watching that whole fight?" Tails asked in an angered tone.

"No...I closed my eyes once or twice." Lynn replied smiling, "Well if you think it's a good idea we could get you checked out so you can go home."

Tails was in a hurry to get home, he wanted to see Kara. It took a number of hours to get fully checked out. The walk home was horrible; Tails could see the extent of the damages inflicted on the town, buildings were nothing more than rubble, there were bodies that had been pulled from some of the debris. Despite the fact that most of it's people had returned there was almost no noise, no cars, no kids, just a dull listless silence that seemed to crawl through Tails's body letting him know that this was no longer a simple conflict...it had escalated to another war. On their way Tails notice the bodies of two soldiers, one had been shot in the chest, the other looked like he had died trying to protect his friend. He reached down and picked up one of the soldiers' guns...he always wanted an Mx-9 but they were strictly military and not sold to general public...he felt a bit low for it but, he still took the weapon...

Lynn looked at him oddly, "I've always wanted one of these." Tails said holding up the assault rifle.

Lynn shook his head, "You and your fucking guns..."

Tails and Lynn continued their walk through the city...Tails couldn't help but claim all of this as his fault, if he hadn't been in the city none of it would have happened. Robotnick never would've come for him, never would have taken Kara, and never would have attacked the innocent people of the city...it weighed down on him...

"It's not you're fault Miles..." Lynn said as they walked.

"What?..." Tails replied.

"It's not your fault...if it hadn't been this place at this time, it just would have been another city somewhere else. I know you too well Miles...you'll cut yourself off from everyone and try to take all of this out on yourself, and you know who it'll hurt the most?"

"Kara..." Tails replied weakly, "...but this is my fault. If I weren't here this never would have happened."

"So it's your fault you wanted to be around your friends and family, and not become some secluded hermit living in the middle of nowhere years ago..."

"Well anything sounds stupid when you put it like that..."

"You're not getting my point..." Lynn said stopping their walk, "...look around. Is this hard to take in because these are all people you care about?...No. This is hard to take in for one reason...they were people who didn't deserve to die...and since they died without a reason, people like you try to put reason to it, and that leads to one outcome... "It's all my fault"...The simple fact of the matter is...eventually this was going to happen. So stop with the self blaming or I'll have to smack you around."

Despite the obvious lack of consideration to Tails's direct feelings, Lynn's words did help. Tails had more important things on his mind that his own misplaced guilt though, he was in a big hurry to see Kara. As he and Lynn approached his house Tails could see her familiar form helping Espio replace the door...as he made his way to the house she notice it was him but, she didn't act surprised or happy to see him. She smiled and welcomed him home but that was it. She acted like she was angry but didn't want to show it...they finished the door and and Kara walked into the house ignoring him altogether...

"Oh come on...I already got stabbed, cut, shocked, and beaten...What the hell did I do?" Tails asked.

"You may have a bit of explaining to do..." Lynn said, "...So Master it's been a few years."

"Real mature you two..." Tails said, "...so you two are ignoring me too."

"I hope you've been keeping up your practice..." Espio said turning to Lynn.

"Hello...HEY!!!" Tails yelled.

Tails smiled to himself and walked over to Lynn, "You know Lynn...I've always wanted to say this but...Your face looks like your neck stepped in something."

Lynn's arm quickly jolted around smacking Tails in the back of the head, "I can still hear you idiot...go talk to her."

** 000 **

Tails heeded the advice and headed into the house, Kara was cleaning up in the kitchen, her clone had left a lot of blood on the floor. Tails walked in and started to help but, she simply moved on to doing something else. Tails rolled his eyes, she wasn't getting away so easily, he followed and started helping her with the next job. She eventually went to a job where she figured he couldn't follow, she made her way to the back of the house and climbed a ladder to the roof. Tails sighed as he stood at the base of the ladder, his back injury caused pain anytime he stretched too far...

He stifled back a cry of pain as he felt his stitches rip when he reached for a high rung on the ladder...

"What the hell are you doing?" Kara almost yelled at him as he began to yell pulling himself up the ladder.

"You're gonna talk to me...one way or another..." Tails replied making another painful step up the ladder.

Kara could almost feel every ounce of that pain jolting through his body as he climbed the ladder, his shirt was soaked with blood by the time he pulled himself onto the roof. Kara was finally paying some sort of attention to him now helping him stand up...

"Are you out of your mind?" She asked.

"Yeah...but I told you, you'd talk to me. So why are you ignoring me?"

Kara moved away from him, "...better me than you...What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

"Look Kara..." Tails said limping toward her, "...That's the way I feel okay. I'd rather you lived then me if given the option. It's not a big deal, that's the way any man in that position should react...you are a lot more important to me that my own life Kara...there aren't a whole lot of things that can change that." Tails started back down the ladder, "I love you Kara...and if you need me I think I'll have Espio fix these stitches in my back, I'm not going back to the hospital again."

Kara sighed to herself, "I love you too you idiot...but I'm tired of you having to protect me."

** 000 **

Kara finished with the roof and headed back down to the yard where she found Espio and an unfamiliar silver wolf. As she saw the two she got an idea...

"Umm...Espio..."

Espio and the wolf both turned toward her, "Yes..."

"Look...is it possible for you to stick around for a bit longer?"

Espio laughed lightly, "My dear I'm a chameleon...I can stick to pretty much anything...all jokes aside why?"

"I want you to teach me how to fight..." She said quickly.

"Really...interesting concept, I've never had a female student before..." Espio said rubbing his chin, "..what do you think Lynn?"

"Miles said she has spirit...isn't that why you started training me?"

"We'll all sleep on it..." Espio said, "...if you're still this devoted in the morning, I'll consider staying long enough to teach you. From what Lynn has told me another student of mine could use a few lessons as well..." Espio finished looking toward the house.

"Thank you Espio..." Kara said walking toward the house, "...but I think I need to talk to Miles."

"Good...please tell him that he needs to clean that wound before I stitch it back up." Espio said.

** 000 **

Tails had returned to his room where he removed his bloody shirt, he took some time to look into a full length mirror that was in his room. His face and chest was covered in the tiny cuts from his scuffle with Vyce...at least the cuts were not deep enough to leave scars...spare for the two on his left cheek that moved diagonally toward his muzzle and hooked under his jaw. He wished he could see the cut on his back, the doctors had told him it was not that bad, but it was deep enough to require stitches and stretched from his left shoulder to his lower back. As he studied himself Kara walked into the room quietly enough for him not to notice her. She watched as he cautiously made his way toward the bathroom, it obviously pained him to walk. Finally she could not watch anymore and rushed over to help him...

"I thought you were mad at me..." He said as she placed herself under one of his arms for support.

"Forget it...I was mad at myself not you...I never should have taken it out on you like that."

"That's okay...I understand..." Tails said wincing as he opened the bathroom door.

Kara didn't like the look of the large slash across his back, "Espio said you need to clean that wound before he can fix you up...unless you'd prefer the hospital again."

"Alright..."

Kara got the shower going and helped Tails into the water...he yelped as the hot waters seeped into the cut, but the hot water soon began to numb the wound. Kara disrobed and stepped into the waters behind him, she began to carefully wash his back for him as she didn't expect him to do it himself in his condition. She was a bit ashamed as she stood there washing his fur when she began to think to herself; with him so badly injured their physical relationship would falter, a bullet in his shoulder was one thing, but this time there was a gash that nearly stretched the full length of his back...he wouldn't be of able body for weeks. When she was done with his back she lay her head against his shoulder...

"You know...I never really thanked you for getting me out of that place." She said wrapping her arms around him.

Tails back hurt as she pressed against him but he didn't care. He leaned his head into her and held it to his face with a hand on her cheek, "I'll never let anything like that happen to you Kara...not so long as I'm still breathing."

"That's what's been scaring me Miles..." She said lifting her head a bit to look him in the eyes, "If you keep this up for too much longer...there's no telling how long you're going to last..." She hugged him again, "I don't think I could keep going in this life without you here with me...I don't think I'd want to..."

Tails turned around to face her, "What do you want me to do then? Just leave? Cause if that's what it'll take to make you happy, we can pack up and by tomorrow we'll never see this place again."

His offer sounded tempting, "You know I couldn't ask you to do that...you don't fight to be a hero, it's just who you are, you like to help people, especially the ones you care about the most. I should be flattered that you place my safety above everyone else's...but...I just don't like seeing you like this..."

Tails took her in his arms, "Listen...this whole thing can't possibly pan out much longer. Vyce is dead and if we're lucky Robotnick was still in the base when it exploded. Myra knows where his other bases are so, if he is still alive she'll be able to point out his bases and we can take them out too..."

Kara hugged him tightly, "I hope you're right..."

She pulled away from their embrace and kissed him deeply; he'd missed the feeling and the taste of her lips. Even more so the feeling of her body against his...the feel of her fur had it's normal effect on him. She jumped a bit as she felt his arousal brush up against her leg. She broke their embrace and smiled at him, she'd have given almost anything at that moment to have been able to have her way with him but, as she thought about it, it really wasn't worth the amount of pain it would put him in...

** 000 **

Downstairs the two found Espio waiting near the couch...Tails lay on his stomach and waited. Compared to the pain he'd already been in, the repeated penetration of his flesh with a needle and thread was tolerable. Kara stood by watching Espio's work as the wound slowly closed up...It wasn't long before Tails was allowed to stand up and put on the red shirt that Kara held for him. There was a time of silence before Espio brought up what he and Kara had talked about, Tails didn't seem to think it too bad of an idea...though he did think that his teaching her to use her pistol were enough...

For Tails the day progressed slowly, his back gave him grief of the simplest tasks. Lynn left early in the day to see what he could help with in town, he may come off a brash and harsh at times but, essentially he wasn't a bad person...just a bit of an ass at times. Slowly throughout the day Tails was visited by all of his friends; first Gwen stopped in, her right arm had somehow been broken, then Sonic and Sally, then Knuckles and Julie-su. Now it was about 1 o'clock and he was visited by a friendly face he'd not seen in years. As Tails answered a knock at the door he was embraced by a familiar white bat...

"OH GOD!!!" He screamed, "ROUGE MY BACK!!!"

Rouge instantly recoiled at his cries of pain, "Miles I'm sorry I didn't know." She said putting a hand over her mouth.

"That's okay..." Tails replied in a strained voice, "...Hugs are fine...Just not so hard." He finished hugging her back.

As she walked in Tails notice that she was dressed a bit differently than usual; she was dressed like a normal person, she didn't wear her old sneaking suit...instead she was wearing tight blue jeans and a red tank top. Tails had always been attracted to her when he was younger...then again he was still young then and wasn't used to seeing women like Rouge, her figure put some of the girls at the bar to shame...if Tails had to guess her measurements he was sure that they would almost match Kara's, if not slightly dwarf them...

Left in the doorway watching her saunter across the room was the black hedgehog that Tails had believed was dead, "It's good to see you Miles..." Shadow said shaking the fox's hand.

"Good to know you're still alive and kick'n." Tails replied. "You mind filling me in on how it is you are alive, last I heard you weren't."

"Only if you can shed more light on this whole clone thing..." Shadow said walking in. "Sonic tried to explain but...he just ended up confusing himself."

"No problem..." Tails said as the hedgehog walked in.

As he walked in Tails notice that Shadow's right arm was a bit limp, as if he refused to move it; at the moment he was wearing a silver colored muscle shirt and a pair of long, black, jean shorts.

** (2 hours later) **

Over the next two hours they explained their stories to each other, Tails's story took up most of the time, Shadow didn't seem to like the sound of any of it. He hated Robotnick with a passion, not just Robotnick himself but, the man's entire family line seemed to make Shadow's blood boil...Then again he had his reasons for hating the Robotnick family. He seemed horribly disturbed however by the fact that Vyce was able to use Chaos Control with a single emerald, so far him and Vyce seemed to be the only two that could do so but, that was just the problem...What if Robotnick found a way to create that effect in his clones? Rouge had seen and dealt with a Mechanized version of herself before...she personally knew how bad a Mecha Sonic and Knuckles could be especially working together...she even had her doubts that Shadow could handle either of them by himself...

"Something doesn't seem right here..." Shadow said as Tails finished his story, "You said Nack was clearly after the emeralds...right?"

"Yeah..." Tails replied.

"Well if Robotnick didn't ask for the emeralds, and that Vyce guy didn't seem to be after them..."

Tails nodded at the thought, "You think there's someone deeper into this too huh?"

Shadow stretched his neck to either side, "Good chance...I don't like it."

"I guess we can only sit and wait...unless Myra knows something, I'll check with her tonight..." Tails said.

"Good...I'll talk with Espio and the others and see what we can come up with."

As the couple left Rouge hugged Tails again, this time not hard enough to hurt him. Not long after Kara came through the door...

"Who were those two?" She asked, yawning a bit.

"That was Shadow and Rouge...I guess I'll have to introduce you to them sometime."

Kara sat in a nearby chair and lay her head on the table...she looked tired she and the others had been working for hours restoring the house, and the worst part was that Tails couldn't help. He stood up and placed himself behind her where he began to massage her shoulders. She was incredibly stiff, her muscles felt like rocks...it was so bad that a few time she yelped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. At first it had hurt to have his strong hand kneading her sore muscles but, after a few minutes the pain was replaced with a mixture of relief and pleasure as he moved on to different muscles, her neck and back seemed especially sensitive...Her eyes seemed to close involuntarily and her head moved from side to side. Tails knew that it was helping when he heard a familiar sound resonating from her, she'd started purring if only lightly enough for him to hear it. It was a sound that he had always enjoyed, the fact that she was enjoying herself made him happy.

She sighed as her claws dug into the table, "Miles...you may want to stop that."

"Oh really? And why would I do that?" He asked leaning his head toward her shoulder.

Kara turned her head to meet his gaze...

"Oh..." Tails smiled, "...Is that right?" He asked as he stopped with his massage, "So what if I did this instead?"

With that he began to rub the base of her ear, the action causing her to shift slightly in her seat, as her tail began to twitch uncontrollably from side to side. He knew the effect this had on her, he was really just playing but, nonetheless it was getting her worked up. Her head began to lean to the side that he was scratching, she tilted her head all the way back...

"You'd better be able to finish what you start." Kara said with a light smile.

"I can try..." Tails said smiling back.

He kissed her as hungrily as she had dons so to him in the past...it was odd she wasn't used to him kissing her like that, but she had to admit she liked it. It felt like he absolutely had to have her...the desperation soon got to her and she wrapped her arms around the back of his head. She'd also never kissed anyone upside down before, it was a bit awkward, but as long as he was the one doing it she didn't care how he kissed her. Soon enough the two were completely enveloped in one another cutting themselves off from the outside world. As their passion began to take over, Tails's paws snaked their way into her shirt and began to massage her breasts...

As he was about to take her shirt off there was a knock at the door, Kara laughed as he rolled his eyes, "I hope this isn't starting a trend all again."

Tails's smile instantly faded, "Don't even joke about that...I'll remove that door and put a wall there I swear to god."

Tails weakly walked to the door and opened it only to find a smiling black fox...

"Oh...hi Myra."

"Hi yourself...can I come in?"

Tails stepped aside, "Yeah...I wanted you to meet someone..." Tails turned to notice Kara was not at the table, "...who has apparently got better things to do at the moment."

The two sat at the table where Tails began to go over all of the things that he had talked about with the others. Myra happily agreed to show them where Robotnick's other bases were. Tails was happy that she was agreeing to help but, he couldn't help but to wonder where Kara had gone...he really wanted Kara to meet Myra, he knew they'd make good friends. As they sat there Sally poked her head through the slightly opened front door while knocking...

"Miles? Are you busy? If you are I can come back..."

"No Sally...come on in."

Sally took a few steps through the door before she nearly tripped over a loose floorboard, "Watch your step, repairs aren't done yet." Tails said.

Sally carried something in her hands and set it on the table. Tails smelled chocolate...

"Cake...?" Tails said with a questioning look.

"No specific reason but yes..." Sally replied, "...well half a cake, Sonic decided to help himself while it was cooling." She said sitting at the table. "Say where's Kara?"

Tails shifted in his seat, "Don't know...Myra showed up and she vanished."

As they sat there and began to chat a bit, Tails still couldn't help but to wonder where Kara had gotten off to. He wondered why she'd taken off so suddenly. It wasn't like her to simply rush off so suddenly, especially when they'd been so occupied with each other, usually when they were interrupted she stuck around, waiting to finish what they'd started. At some point during their conversation, Sally decided that Tails could use something hot to drink as his back kept acting up, and went to the kitchen to brew some tea, at that same time Myra excused herself to the bathroom upstairs leaving Tails at the table alone. He hadn't bothered to get up even though he wanted to, his back hurt every time he tried to stand up...

As Sally was busy in the kitchen Tails felt something...a sensation that hit him so fast he had to stop himself from falling out of his chair. Sally turned quickly to see that his face was beet red and his claws were dug into the table's wooden surface peeling small curls of wood out of the table top...

"Tails? Are you okay?" Sally asked getting only a weak nod in reply, "You look a little flushed."

Tail jolted forward a bit, "I-It's just...my-my back." He said in a strained voice.

Sally sat a cup of hot tea in front of Tails and kissed him on the forehead, "Well...you take it easy, okay. I have to meet Sonic somewhere..." She said heading for the door, "...you get some sleep okay?"

"I will..." His voice cracked.

"Bye Tails...tell Kara I said hi."

Tails felt a moment of relaxation before Myra came back downstairs, it was getting late though. Myra only stayed for a few more minutes, long enough for her to bombard him with questions about why he was acting so odd. Soon after she was done with her questions the red slowly faded from his face and he lay his head on the table...

"I think you need some sleep." Myra said standing next to Tails who had been breathing heavily,

"It'll make your back feel better...Well I need to get back to Gwen's apartment."

After she had been gone for a minute or so Tails moved away from the table, where Kara's head was protruding from beneath the table cloth. She wore a mischievous smirk on her face...

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You are gonna pay for that."

Kara smiled, "I told you not to start what you can't finish."

"Still...a little warning would have been nice."

The awkward situation angered him a little, but, it seemed that no matter what she did, he was never able to actually stay angry with her for long. After too long Tails took a shower, which took longer than usual...he wasn't dirty, but the water helped his back. By the time he was done he found that Kara was already in bed. Laying there with her seemed to make his back stop hurting, his thoughts faded from one subject to another, though his main thoughts were of what their next step was toward Robotnick...for a brief moment he thought of Vyce but, in his mind there was no way he could have survived the explosion. His primary thoughts were of Robotnick however. Wether or not he had survived the base's explosion, but his track record was against Tails's better luck. He simply lay there trying to sleep while hoping that the next attack did not include the Mechanized Sonic and Knuckles clones...He feared that he'd never get to sleep before Kara opened her eyes and noticed he wasn't sleeping. She didn't bother saying anything, she already knew him well enough to know what was wrong...she kissed him and pulled herself closer to him resting her head on his chest, that seemed to be enough as soon Tails found himself asleep...

**AN: My time's been a little here and there lately. You know...new games to beat PS3 and all...though most of my time has been spent on the Wii and my DS. I finally worked out the ending to this fic...I've got it planned at about 25 chapters, but that could turn out to be more pretty quickly. Chapter 14 Time&Patience will be out soon...**


	14. Time&Patience

**Chapter XIV** Time&Patience

Kara woke early the next morning, she somehow managed getting out of bed without waking Tails. She smiled when she looked at him, he was snoring pretty loudly...she'd never heard him snore before...

"Wow...he must really be tired."

She couldn't help but smile again as he rolled to her side and hugged her pillow, he'd obviously thought it was her. Kara kissed his forehead before heading downstairs, Lynn was asleep on the couch; Kara was amazed at how loud he snored...she was afraid that he might wake Tails up with the god awful noise...but the silver lupine was not her concern at the moment, but rather the only person that was missing from Tails's increasingly full household. Espio was found outside, not much surprise there...he seemed to be in a sort of training. He held a large log on his shoulders, and would bend his waist from one side to the other touching each end of the log to the ground before doing so again with the other side of the log. Kara approached him with curiosity...

"Have you thought it over?" He asked still keeping his steady rhythm with the log.

"I haven't changed my mind if that's what you mean..."

Espio grunted a bit as he tossed the log to his left side, "I must warn you...I expect a lot from my students. You will not be limited to martial arts, you'll learn whatever it is I think you need to learn...Understood?"

"Yes..."

"Good...I've always wondered if teaching a female would be any easier than the males."

"So where do we start?" Kara asked.

"I'm going to have to find your strengths...Pick up the log."

Kara looked at the large piece of wood, "What? That must weigh close to 200 pounds."

"Or more...go ahead." Espio said crossing his arms and tilting his head towards the large object.

Kara walked over to the log and managed to pull one end up until it rested vertically on one end. She could have sworn the log was far heavier than what he said...she couldn't lift it...hell she could barely move it. She struggled repeatedly to lift it onto her shoulders but, she couldn't even manage to get it off the ground before her knees would give out...but she didn't give up...

** 000 **

Tails awoke only to realize the object he'd blindly kissed was in fact Kara's pillow, as he realized she wasn't there he heard something outside, something that sounded like an oversized object falling to the ground with a loud thud, a few seconds passed and he heard the sound again...Tails quickly recalled Kara's desire to have Espio teach her to defend herself...

"Oh god...he wouldn't." Tails said staggering from the pain in his back as he got out of the hammock.

Tails painfully walked out onto the patio and looked out onto the lawn where he saw Kara still struggling to lift an oversized log of wood, Espio stood nearby watching intently. Tails was all too familiar with this lesson, a lot of Espio's lessons were a test of the mind, the chameleon cared very little for physical strength. Tails remembered when he was given the test long ago...He made his way downstairs as quickly as he could until he made his way out the door and finally joined Espio...he switched his gaze back and forth from Espio to Kara several times...

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked sternly, "She could hurt herself doing that...or don't you remember what happened to me?"

"Of course I do..." Espio replied still watching Kara struggle with the log, "...and I take it you remember what you learned from the experience?"

"Persistence can get you anywhere."

Tails had to fight every natural impulse in his body to not rush over and help her, but he was sure that doing so would only serve to make her mad. All he could do was stand there and watch as Kara yelled in strain and frustration trying to lift the log off the ground. As she paused against the log to catch her breath Tails limped slowly over and stood on the other side of the log.

"I'm sorry Miles but, I don't want your help." She said in an exhausted voice.

Tails leaned over and kissed her forehead, "Good...I couldn't lift that thing right now even if I tried. And F.Y.I...that log weighs more than he says it dose..."

Her eyes met his in a surprised look, "W...what?! I've been trying to pick this up for an hour."

"Don't worry...you can do this..." Tails reassured her with a kiss that she graciously returned, "...But if you finish this training by tonight, I'll have a surprise for you."

Kara rubbed her muzzle along the side of his face, "Mmmm...I hope it's what I think it is." She said with a bit of a forced smile.

"Maybe...never know..." Tails kissed her again for luck, "...now, while you're working at that I have some things to take care of..."

** 000 **

Tails retreated to his lab it would be easier for Kara to concentrate if he were not present. It didn't really make him feel any better for her, he knew how tough Espio's training could get. Lynn was awake when Tails limped slowly through the living room, but he was not aware of the vulpine, he was too deep in thought at the moment. Tails could instantly tell that it was going to be a slow, dull day, his only thing to do was to sit by working on his inventions and hoping that sometime soon his body would heal...but eventually his back wouldn't allow the constant use of his tools...Within the next hour he found himself on the patio attached to his room going over all the things he'd been through recently on his laptop. He was alone for about an hour before Lynn took a seat in the other lounge chair yawning deeply...

"Gonna be one of those days..."

Tails scoffed, "You just noticing that? How do you think I feel? At least you can move around without hurting yourself."

"Hey...I don't recall telling you to act like a badass and try to sword fight someone when you've never even touched one before." Lynn said with a hint of humor in his voice, "If you'd have just shot the dumbass you wouldn't be in this position."

Tails sighed, "Whatever..."

"What were you thinking doing something that stupid in the first place?"

"Maybe I wasn't...cause every time I looked at Myra I saw Kara."

Lynn laughed a bit to himself, "I always figured you were that kind of person."

Tails slapped his laptop shut, "What kind of person?"

Lynn stood up and walked over to the balcony's rail where he looked down at Kara who was still struggling to lift the log, "The whole knight in shining armor...can't stand to see someone in trouble without helping...especially a pretty girl."

Tails slowly joined him by the rail and smiled as he watched Kara desperately trying to get the log off the ground, "Maybe you're right...every time I look at her down there I have to fight myself just to not go and help her."

"She's a strong woman Miles...she doesn't want you to have to protect her at every turn down a troubled road, and I'm sure you're well aware that we are headed down one hell of a troubled road."

Tails sighed, "I know what she's doing is for her own best interest...but I still don't like it. I never had to fight anyone, until I started learning from Espio, then I was lucky if a week went by without someone trying to kick my ass...I just don't want the same thing to happen to her."

"Miles...I know your heart's in the right place and all...but you seem to be a target of interest in this conflict..." Lynn said stifling a laugh as Kara angrily kicked the log hurting her foot, "...and as close as she is to you...that makes her a target too...the more ways she is taught to defend herself, the better her chances of not being caught in one of those situations again."

Tails chuckled, "Well then...she damned sure went to the right teacher..." This time he laughed hurting his back, "...if she doesn't mind the occasional, cut, bruise, contusion, fracture, headache..."

Lynn laughed, "If I recall correctly the only one that ever suffered a broken bone from his training was you."

"And who's fucking fault was that?" Tails replied angrily.

"Sorry...for what? The 600,000th time." Lynn said, "But at least it was only your foot."

Tails laughed and shook his head as Kara kicked the log several times in anger, "You think she's ever gonna realize that the log is actually weighed down?"

Lynn looked out to the distant skies over the ocean, "Looks like another storm..." He said tilting his head toward the black clouds hanging over the horizon."

About an hour passed, and the winds had picked up to the point of bending the palms that lined Tails's runway. Soon light rain began to fall, which quickly turned to a powerful downpour. The winds caused the waves far below the cliff to crash into the hillside creating a sound that overpowered that of the building thunder outside. Tails and Lynn were at the table with a hot pot of tea waiting for the two that rushed through the door as the torrential rains turned into unforgiving hail. Kara was hanging her head low as she walked up the stairs to Tails's room...

"What's wrong with her?" Lynn asked as Espio took his seat.

"She's convinced herself that she failed..."

"Did she?" Tails asked.

"She did far better than she thinks..." Espio answered pouring himself a cup of tea, "...I think you should perhaps go talk to her Miles...but do NOT compromise my training."

Tails made his way up to the room, when he walked in he found himself unable to look away from her, as she was now void of all clothing...she turned toward him as she heard the door shut...

"Oh...hi." She said in a slightly depressed voice.

"What's wrong?" Tails asked limping over to her.

"I couldn't do it...it didn't matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it."

"Nobody ever...and I mean ever completes his first test..." Tails said hugging her, "...he's just measuring you up, you know trying to find out how determined you are...as you imagine he doesn't care much for quitters."

"Did he say anything to you down there?" She asked enjoying the warmth that spread to her from his body, the rain had soaked her to the bone and she was half frozen.

Tails pushed her a bit further from him, "He said you did a lot better than you think...I think he's looking forward to teaching you, Damn you're cold..."

Kara giggled a bit and pulled him in close, "I know a pretty fun way of getting warm again."

Tails chuckled a bit after she kissed him, "Trust me...here in about an hour...you're not gonna feel so giddy. No more adrenalin to keep you from feeling the effects of your training."

"What training? All I did was sit around trying to lift that stupid log..." She said kissing him rather deeply.

Tails broke away, "You're gonna kill me...you know that?"

"I was just playing with you Miles...I know how much your back hurts you...I don't know how I'd feel if I knew I was causing you any more pain." She smiled at him pressing her bare breasts against his chest, "Besides there are a lot more things we could do. For instance you could join me for a shower, I did work up quite a sweat trying to lift that log."

Despite the fact that she was there Miles would have looked for just about any reason to soak his back wound in some nice hot water. He'd noticed how much the hot water made the wound stop hurting, being close to her would help too, Tails was the first into the hot stream of water which caused him to yelp as it seeped in through his stitches, but the pain slowly slipped away causing him to close his eyes. As he felt Kara's back rub against his chest he instantly wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her in as close as possible. As he nuzzled the side of her face she reached her hands back behind her and around his neck, moving her head slightly from side to side as he began to nibble at the side of her neck. Her hands met his as he cupped her large breasts gently massaging them...she'd always noticed his appreciation for them...the mixture of feelings from her neck and breasts caused to begin lightly moaning, which slowly developed into a seductive purring sound. He jumped a bit when he felt her tail rub against his crotch...

"I thought you said you weren't in any condition for this..." Kara said but was cut off by a gasp as he began to play with her erect nipples.

Tails turned her to face him and kissed her very passionately, allowing his actions to sink in before he broke away from her...

"Changed my mind...if anyone's worth the pain you are."

He reengaged their earlier embrace backing Kara into the shower wall, their kiss had apparently had it's effect on Tails as Kara could feel his excitement rubbing against her inner thigh. Tails broke their embrace and Kara gasped as his attention moved to her breasts lightly nibbling at her erect nipples. When their shower was over Kara walked into the bedroom leaving Tails to himself...he thought they were headed somewhere but, she'd left him in the now cold shower, curious as to why she'd left him there. He walked in after her to find her waiting by Tails's hammock...

"Sorry Miles...but I thought something out and...you need to let those stitches heal."

Tails sighed but smiled as he slipped into a new pair of boxers, "I guess you're right...it we would've gone through with that in there I probably would have had to have Espio fix me up again." He said, "I guess I should thank you for stopping me."

"It was harder to stop myself...your hands can be pretty persuasive." She said as he made his way to her.

"Well it's a pretty good consolation prize being in the same room...much the less the same bed."

With that Kara hugged him and then helped him into the hammock before climbing in herself. She always felt at peace when they were in their current state, void of anything in the world but themselves and the fact that they were together. Though most of the time Tails had trouble falling asleep this night was however different as he found himself sleeping before Kara...as she noticed he was asleep she smiled, she thought he looked like a kit while he slept...she kissed the corner of his muzzle before nestling her head into his thick chest fur and allowed the sound of his heartbeat to lull her to sleep...

** the next morning **

Kara woke up shivering, the warmth from Tails's body was not there, but the still pouring rain had brought with it a heavy chill. She got dressed and headed downstairs, but there was no one there. She walked out the front door where she couldn't believe her eyes, the heavy rain fell on the horizon of a burning city, the skies were filled with black clouds. As she stood there in disbelief the heavy rain became heavier, and thicker, it was only as a dark figure approached her that she realized the rain had turned to blood. The figure raised it's hand and a gunshot brought Kara to her knees...She tried to scream as she saw the figure's face, but her voice wouldn't come. It was Tails, as he finally reached her he kicked her in the chest knocking her to her back. Tears flooded her eyes as she tried with all of her might to call out to him but her voice still wouldn't come...

As he lifted his gun toward her he looked her in the eyes, "Do you love me now?"

** 000 **

Tails had woken early and was still in the shower when he hear something come from the bedroom...

"MILES!!" Kara's voice was full of distress.

He didn't bother that several of his stitches ripped but he bolted out of the shower, instead of opening the door to the bedroom he rushed into it knocking it open. Kara was sitting in their hammock breathing heavily with streams of tears in her eyes. Tails rushed over to her side...he knew what was wrong just by looking at her...

"Hey...It was just a dream. I'm right here." He said touching her shoulder.

At hearing his voice she turned toward him, the concerned look on his face faded into a smile and she quickly threw her arms around his neck. She was still crying a bit...Tails wasn't sure what she saw but he was sure that it must have been a horrible dream. He stood up and held her until she felt comforted enough, then she saw how he was dressed and the bathroom door hanging from it's hinges. He turned to walk back to the shower when Kara noticed that some of his stitches had popped, but at least it wasn't bleeding now. As she found a new suit of clothing she realized that almost every muscle in her body was in pain...Espio's training had been more effective than she may have thought. She found nobody downstairs...she went to the kitchen and started breakfast. Her nightmare was still fresh in her mind, but she was more concerned about the way her muscles felt like they were all tied into knots...it made moving around a bit difficult. She was rather surprised at how much of her body had gotten a work out from just attempting to lift a log of wood, she was also convinced that she'd at least pulled a muscle or two...

Tails slipped into a pair of dark brown cargo jeans, and a light blue sleeveless hoodie. He was a bit happy to find that walking no longer hurt his back so much, though he was sure there was a broad range of other movements that would agitate it just as easily. He could smell the food that was downstairs as he headed out of the room.He was surprised enough when he noticed the only person downstairs was Kara who was sitting at the table rubbing her sore neck.As he looked around yawning heavily he noticed something on the front door and retrieved it before sitting at the table...

"What's that?" Kara asked.

"A note from Lynn and Espio..." Tails answered while skimming over the note, "...apparently Lynn got to talking with Myra and she agreed to show them were Robotnick's other bases are. It says they'll return tomorrow, and apparently Espio wants you to get some rest before you continue your training tomorrow."

"Well that's just great..." Kara said rubbing her shoulder, "...my everything hurts."

Tails laughed at the comment, "Yeah his training has a tendency to do that..." He said walking around behind her lightly massaging her shoulders, "...but look on the bright side...we have the whole day to ourselves."

"Mmmm..." She hummed as the soreness in her shoulder began to fade, "...I like the sound of that. What'd you have in mind?"

His only reply was a big smile and a deep kiss...

"Are you sure about that?" Kara asked with a smile of her own.

Tails response was a passionate embraced that actually caused them to fall onto the table knocking their plates to the floor. Kara had wanted it as much as Tails did...possibly more. Their actions eventually led them back to their bedroom, the whole experience was, as he thought, tough on Tails's back...but was not nearly as bad as he'd thought it may have been, by the time they were both contempt with themselves it was a late hour in the afternoon. Tails left Kara to sleep, she needed some sleep. He took a quick shower before getting himself dressed again. He wanted every detail about what had happened with Espio's small group...the hours passed, Kara woke up, the sun fell to the night, but Espio and his party did not return. Sonic and the others came by one by one expressing their concerns for what was going on. The base they were supposedly heading for was somewhere far north of Robotropolis...It was far but, not so far that it should take a day to scout it and head back. Still it seemed like a bit much to get worried about just being gone a few extra hours. It was hard for Tails to get to sleep that night, his thoughts were all on Espio, Lynn, and Myra...he could clearly see them being tortured or killed, he could only hope and pray that they were okay and would soon come back...

The night passed endlessly, as if every minute were an hour...nothing gave Tails any comfort, not the thought that they might be alright, or even the soft warmth of the vixen asleep at his side. Everything told him that the worst had happened. Days passed and the search parties came up with nothing. Three days later as Tails left the house to head for Sonic's place for a check up on the situation, he found something on his lawn which caused him to rush to the shabby lump of fur...it was Lynn who had collapsed while carrying Myra his gear was laying next to him; Lynn had been shot which was hard enough to believe, and it looked like Myra's leg was broken, worst of all there was no sign of Espio anywhere. Tails called for Kara who rushed downstairs and helped Tails carry the two vulpine inside. Only the two knew what had happened. Tails's bad feeling had been right...but something itched at the back of his skull that this time things were not going to turn out so well...


	15. Another threat

**Chapter XV**: Another threat...

**(Sorry for the long wait on the update people...I don't usually procrastinate so much, but, I've been through a lot recently and am working with several different stories. PS: I'll try to update sooner next time...)**

Days passed and the two injured animals remained in their state of perpetual sleep. According to the doctors Lynn was lucky to be alive though they weren't sure why he had lapsed into a coma, the only excuse could have been that he overused his ability as a Jumper. Myra on the other hand was worse off than it had at first seemed, there was a deep gash in one of her shoulders, there was a large cut over her right eye, and her left thigh had been practically shattered. Even though the pain in his own back was no longer a problem, Tails stayed in his friends's room. There was nothing he could do...he had no clue where Espio was, who had done this to Lynn and Myra, or whether or not he could do anything to help. As the days passed Tails slowly lost hope...the only comfort he found at any time was in Kara's arms, and even then it was fleeting. Lynn showed no signs of waking up, Tails knew that overexerting his ability could easily kill him, and Myra had nearly bled to death on Tails's lawn and there was a chance that she would never wake up. Tails tried his hardest not to recognize it but, there was an anger deep inside that was welling up with every thought of his injured friends, every moment he spent with them in that dull silence, and every time he saw Kara cry when she'd visit them...

It had been six days since Lynn and Myra had been found. Tails didn't know what perverse though woke him or why he did it for that matter...but he woke early that morning, he kissed Kara on the forehead and after getting dressed he headed into his lab. After some slight modifications to his trench coat to allow for a greater load of weapons he armed himself with as many weapons as he could carry; Dusk and Dawn, his new MX-9, Requiem, two shotguns, his sword, several grenades, ten tubes of Espio's caltrops, and the bracers that Espio had given him so long ago. He stopped to kiss Kara good bye before grabbing his gear and heading north...

Kara woke to no surprise that Tails was not there, he'd been waking early and going to the hospital to check up on Lynn and Myra...but her normal mood was instantly changed as she noticed that his gear, which was usually next to hers, was gone. He'd not gone for a ride on it since he'd been injured. She was naked but didn't care as she rushed downstairs...she feared the worst. She stopped as she noticed the door to Tails's lab was open...

"Miles?" She called, "Oh god Miles please tell me you didn't do something stupid."

As she got to the bottom of the stairs her heart nearly stopped, almost all of his weapons were gone. She rushed back upstairs...

** Sonic's place... **

Sonic had a long night as Sally didn't seem to want to leave him alone for some reason, he blamed the pregnancy. He was amazed at how much more energy she seemed to have in retrospect to her normal self...he actually kind of liked it. Unfortunately his sleeping with his face buried in his pillow was interrupted by his cell that he'd placed on his nightstand. He blindly fumbled around for the phone and unfolded it placing it to his face which he kept buried in his pillow...

"Sonic is me..." He said yawning groggily, "...I...just talk..."

Kara's voice came from the other end a bit distressed, "Sonic...I just woke up..."

"Good for you, that's a hell of an accomplishment."

"LISTEN DAMN IT!!!" She shouted waking him completely up, "Miles is gone, and so are all of his weapons."

That sunk in, "WHAT!!!" The sound of his scream nearly caused Sally to fall out of the bed. "Are you sure?"

"Do you think I'd be kidding about this? His gear's gone too."

Sonic noticed a growing concern in her voice, "Look don't worry okay...just get over to Me and Sally's place and I'll round up the others and see what we can find. He probably headed north looking for Espio."

** Meanwhile North of Robotropolis **

Tails could only hope that Espio had not turned off the communicator he'd given him...it's battery life was pretty long. Tails pulled out a small pocket computer much like Sally's computer Nicole and tried to lock in on the signal the device gave off. After a few minutes a blip appeared on the small screen...it was only a few miles away. Tails tried to reach Espio a few times but, unfortunately there was no reception, but that didn't stop him from turning his board east and tearing off over the sand. He followed it across the the desert and through the woods. It was for some reason moving further away...as he neared the shore on the far other side of the desert, he noticed an odd sound. It was a steady hum coming from over head some distance away, as he looked to the sky Tails noticed what had been making the sound as a massive ship parted the clouds several hundred yards ahead; it was not of Robotnick's design, none of the man's trademark signs were anywhere on the ship. It's massive body was reminiscent of a submarine, massive, round, and slightly oblong, it's only wings were small and riddled jets that seemed to gush air in a rapid manner that provided an upward lift, and seemed to produce the sound that Tails had heard. Tails didn't hesitate in what he was doing when he sped off a small cliff over the ocean on his X-gear, as he was airborne he lifted the board into his arms and took flight himself using the gained momentum from the board to increase his flight speed...it took no more than a few minutes to catch the craft, it didn't move very fast, but as he landed on the ship's deck located atop the craft it began to ascend at an astonishing rate. As the ship parted through the clouds Tails found himself struggling to breath as the air began to get thinner and thinner as he gained altitude. He rushed about the deck of the ship looking for an entrance to the inside, his vision was blurring and he felt incredibly light-headed as he found an air lock quickly using his Technopathy to open the door, as it was electrically coded and locked. He quickly ran inside and fell to his knees as fresh, breathable air filled his lungs...he didn't even acknowledge how close he'd come to dying, his only thought at the time was to find Espio and kill whoever had attacked Lynn and Myra.

The halls of the ship were not elaborate in any way...rather they were mostly the color of polished steel, not quite to any mirror finish but, they did produce a nice shine. His footsteps were the only sound to break the hallowed silence of the empty ship...

"Espio...Espio you read me?" He whispered hoping that Espio could hear him through the communicators they wore.

When there was no answer Tails drew his new Mx-9...at first there was no sign of any people on the ship, but soon enough Tails was forced to hide from two passing guards...both were raccoons...he was just happy that they weren't more clones of people he knew. He leaped back into the hall and headed in whatever direction he could, the ship was enormous, and as he moved further into the ship he found that his hiding was becoming increasingly more necessary as he began to notice more and more guards patrolling the halls. Soon enough he found himself in a large open room, it was filled with a large number of guards of varying types of animals...two were holding a small conversation while both smoking a large cigar each. When Tails finally worked his way into a position in which he could easily eavesdrop; he instantly noticed that the large brown furred wolf of the two had a bloody patch over his left eye, and his left arm was in a sling...

The other of the two...a small framed tan squirrel...lightly tapped his arm, "That bastard did a number on ya didn't he?"

"No kidding...next time the boss says to watch my ass maybe I should listen a little better."

The two laughed, "Yeah..." The squirrel said, "...at least you're alive those other four weren't so lucky."

"Tell me about it...I've never seen anyone move so fast...they were all dead and I was half blind before I could even blink and that fuck'n chameleon had a broken leg."

"You have guard on him right?" The squirrel asked.

"Yeah...I guess I'll be heading down there but..." The wolf paused, "...I don't know that fucker gives me the creeps."

Their conversation was just what Tails needed to hear he followed the two down the halls and soon enough they came to an elevator. The two boarded the elevator and Tails waited behind making sure nobody was watching when he pried the door back open. He quickly jumped into the shaft allowing his tails to keep him afloat until he landed on the top of the elevator with a very soft landing. He could still hear the two inside for a moment then opened a small panel in the roof of the elevator, he followed them again while remaining hidden. It was a few moments before he was led to a large hall lined with many different cells, each was barred off with iron barred doors with a small electrical panel that was obviously for the locks. Tails found a place to hide near the furthest cell down the hall form the two guards, behind a metal locker. Tails bided his time until the squirrel left the area, and watched the wolf that was left behind. After a few more minutes of standing there Tails heard something on his communicator, a low whispering voice...

"Miles...Miles? The guard's gone they're switching posts."

"Espio?"

"Yes now get over here and get me out of this cell...I have a few choice words in mind for the captain of this ship."

Tails cautiously rushed to the cell where he found Espio, the chameleon had been savagely beaten at some point in the passing days, his leg was as the two had said broken. Tails searched around for a moment but finally used his Technopathy to open the cell door. Espio managed to move considerably well for someone with a broken leg, although sometimes he did lean on Tails for support. As they walked down the surprisingly empty halls Espio spoke up...

"Miles...what do you know about something called '_Verus Custos'_...?"

"An ancient human language..." Tails said keeping his sight on the halls, "...it means...um...True Guardian. Why? Did these people say something?"

"No it all has something to do with the emeralds and something your parents told me before they sent you away...it was something about that mark that you were born with on your thigh."

"Is this why Vyce was able to use Chaos Control with one emerald?"

Espio sighed as they stopped for a moment, "Where are all of the guards?" Tails asked.

"I think they know you're here...we'd better get moving, If I'm right the hanger is in that direction." Espio said pointing down one of the halls."

Tails rushed down the halls allowing Espio to follow behind at his own pace, but as they broke through a large sliding door into a massive hanger lined with hundreds of jets...and more guards and guns aiming at them then either could count...

**Thirty...no fifty...no eighty...**Tails's inner voice said apparently attempting to estimate**...heh heh...I'm gone call me when this is over...**

**(000)**

Tails studied his surroundings as he kept his sights and his Mx-9 on the endless hoard before him. There were some large storage crates to his right...Without hesitation he threw the injured chameleon behind the crates and dove to the opposite side taking down several guards as he slid across the polished floor until he too was hidden behind a large crate. The sound of the enemies's gunfire all at once sounded like an entire infantry opening fire on a tank as every bullet struck the walls. Soon the hail of gunfire halted and was replaced by the sound of a mass reload. At this point one of the guards stepped forward...

"Come out and throw down your weapons!" The wolf yelled out, "You are outnumbered nearly a hundred to one and your only ally is injured...surrender now and you won't die!"

Tails scoffed to himself as he pulled out Requiem and set it to single shot mode, "Hundred to one? Did you remember to count my other friend?"

"And who might that be?"

Tails stepped out in a crouched position for a split second placing a single shot between the wolf's eyes causing the upper half of his head to burst into a multitude of fragments, the impact drug the wolf several feet across the ground before his still madly twitching body was stopped by the feet of his fellow guards. Tails instantly shot back behind his cover... "HIM!!!" He shouted. After the initial shock of watching one of the higher ups get dealt with in such a manner the small army opened fire again...but like last time they stopped to reload. Tails took this moment to slide back to Espio's location taking several more animals down before stopping under cover with Espio.

Tails handed his Mx-9 to Espio, "Cover me I've got a plan..."

Tails barely managed to slide back to his own side where he readied Dusk and Dawn, he then looked to Espio and nodded. Espio opened fire and Tails leaped from his spot taking out several animals with well aimed shots. He made his way to a nearby jet, a large fighter, a BT-38 loaded with several Phoenix missiles. He was forced to use his Technopathy to open the cockpit and leaped into the jet's pilot seat then smashed his palm into the control panel, as his powers took over the jet's control systems the vehicle began to slowly move to face the crowd. As it finally faced the crowd of guards who were hailing Espio with relentless fire they turned their attention to the massive aircraft who's explosive load was now aimed at them. Espio took time from their next reload to make his way into the jet's passenger seat. The crowd was forcefully parted as the Mac guns mounted on the front of the ship tore through the masses, the .50 caliper rounds shredded everything in their path one of the other jets rocked the ship with a massive explosion sending a large group of animals flying in all directions. As the ship dwindled the number of enemies in the room the jet's systems shut down for some reason. Tails jumped out of his seat to look around several still living guards fired on Tails, a single bullet cut into his right calf, the pain wasn't too much but he still returned their fire killing them with ease. After a moment he noticed a figure standing near the doors he'd used to get into the room; whoever it was didn't seem to be concerned with any of the gunfire, accept for the full body black cloak and hood he wore, the only thing visible was a grinning white muzzle protruding from the hood. The person lifted his right hand and the remaining jets all began to aim at the one Tails was on, Tails realized that this person was a Technopath far beyond his power and fired several rounds at him...but the hooded creature raised his other hand and the bullets froze in mid flight then fell to the ground. Tails looked behind him at the bay doors then back to the hooded figure then smiled. He pulled Requiem out and after loading the weapon rested it on his shoulder...The hooded figure's smile vanished as Tails fired a single shot behind him...

An alarm sounded off as his single shot destroyed the control panel to the large bay door, Tails's smile deepened as the bay doors began to open. The hooded one let out a furious cry before exiting back through the door he'd come through. Tails rushed back into the jet and closed the cockpit, as doors fully opened Tails pulled the jet forward until it fell from the ship. Tails was in deep thought but was pulled out of it as he realized the jet was not responding...

"FUCK!!!" He screamed struggling with the control stick.

"What what's wrong?" Espio asked in a panic.

"Nothing!" Tails shouted.

"Stop fucking with me Miles...you don't scream FUCK when you're in the pilot seat of a jet for no reason!"

"Well...it's only a minor problem but..."

"But what!!?"

"This jet...was apparently being worked on..." Tails replied, "...the stick isn't responding with the engines."

Tails didn't waist any time in activating the jet's ejector seats, the cockpit hatch burst form the jet followed by the two seats that were launched into the air. The parachutes deployed and began to slowly float to the ground far below...

"You do realize how uncomfortable I am with heights?" Espio pointed out.

"Then cut the line and you'll get down a lot faster."

"You know most people that just get out of a gunfight, usually don't have that sort of sense of humor."

"Yeah...but I believe you told me a long time ago that the more time you spend fighting the more used to it you get." Tails said, "I guess at some point it just became a bit of a normal part of my life."

"You know how much you sound like your father right now...most of the time you sound like your mother but, when you're serious you sound just like him."

It wasn't too long before they were both on the ground again unfastening themselves from the seats.

"I...wish I could have gotten to know him better..." Tails said helping Espio to his feet, "...I can't even remember my parent's faces anymore. I try but...it's just not there...I don't want to forget them but the more time goes by the more I struggle just to remember what they even looked like."

"Don't worry about it...when you really need them they'll be there..." Espio said, "...now lets get to the city, I'd feel a lot better knowing a doctor had a look at my leg."

Tails pulled his gear from it's place on his back, it was a far trip from where he was now but at the very least he knew that Espio was safe, now his concerns were all placed on Lynn and Myra who he'd left in the hospital. As they rushed off Tails began to inform Espio of everything that had happened, and Espio returned the favor by filling in what had happened to him, Tail however wasn't really paying attention he was curious...Who was the cloaked person on the ship, and how was it he was so powerful? Tails had thought Vyce was terrible but, this new guy was worse then him and Robotnick put together...he'd seen people like Sonic and Espio dodge bullets but, to stop them in mid flight completely that was a trick he'd never even seen Shadow preform, he didn't like it one bit, but there was plenty of time to hopefully figure this all out before these people struck again, he just wondered who the next attack was going to come from...


	16. Grave Discovories

**Chapter XVI****:** Grave discoveries...

**(AN: Sorry for the lateness of the update but now work is getting in the way...anywhoo...there's only one or two more chapters before this thing's done. But if it's any consolation there may be a part two so thanks for your support...)**

**(Two days later...)**

It seemed like the minutes lasted hours each day that went by, Kara continued her training with Espio, Sonic and the others spent their hours trying to find out who the animal was on the ship, but most of all Lynn and Myra showed no signs of improvement. Tails woke up one morning to the same beautiful sight he'd fallen asleep with, for a moment he completely refused to get out of bed, he was far to enraptured by her scent to move. That was until Sonic burst through the door scaring the hell out of Tails who panicked causing himself to flip out of the hammock with Kara landing on him...both still nude from their usual night time activities...

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Tails shouted pulling a blanket over the two of them.

"Lynn and Myra...they're awake."

Tails looked a Sonic with a murderous gaze, "That doesn't mean run in her and scare the fuck out of me..."

"Tails you ain't got nothing I haven't seen."

Tails gave him another look, "And her?"

Sonic looked to Kara who looked a bit confused, "Lynn needs to talk to you about something...Espio's there too..."

"Wait downstairs and we'll get ready." Kara said.

"Sorry Kara...but this is for Tail's ears only."

"That important huh?" Tails stated.

"Yeah...just hurry up." Sonic replied running out the door.

Kara smiled at Tails, "Umm...Miles...?"

"Well you are naked and rubbing against me, what'd you expect?"

"Don't loose that enthusiasm when you get back." She said kissing him before letting him up.

Tails hurried to get dressed; he put on a black hoodie and matching jeans before grabbing his gear and following Sonic through town. He'd always been a bit jealous that Sonic could hoof it as fast as Tails's gear could move. There was however almost nobody in the hospital at the early hour in the morning, Lynn and Myra had been moved to a higher level of the hospital, they were on the fifth floor now listing them in stable condition. Room 318...Sonic stopped at the door and Tails looked to him, Sonic shook his head and pushed the door open to let the fox inside. The room smelled like most hospital rooms, stale, and over cleaned...and as usual there was almost nothing to them. Lynn and Myra both smiled at him when he walked into the room...

"Hey Miles...how's it going?" Lynn asked.

"Not too bad...missing a pretty big chunk out of my ear though." Tails replied noticing Espio staring out the window, "What's going on though? Sonic said this was important..."

Espio pointed to a nearby table, "Look in the box..."

Tails was hesitant but walked to the box and pulled the top off...what was inside was metallic and shiny but, had eyes and what used to be some hair...Robotnick, well his head at the least. It was addressed to Tails...

"Who did this...?"

"Your brother Miles..." Espio answered.

"Wait a minute Espio...you told me I was an only child...you were there when Robotnick killed mom..."

Espio shook his head, "Miles sit..." Tails listened and found a seat, "...What do you know about your father Miles?"

"His name was Amideus...he was an archeologist, scientist, and a freedom fighter...Robotnick killed him and mom."

Espio paused for a moment, "Listen...you have to understand that I swore Rosemary that I would never tell you this...but Robotnick did kill your father, but first they were partners, he and Robotnick worked a genetics program that they wanted to used to better life for everyone...the experiment was based around the development of Psychic abilities, and at one point they succeeded. They created a serum that, when administered at the right stage of development to an embryo would trigger the growth of these abilities. For the experiment Amideus talked your mother, who was barely pregnant, to allow you to be infused with the serum...but the effects were a bit more than the development of your technopathy...the embryo she carried within her split. She gave birth to two boys not one, but your brother even at a year old was displaying problems with his behavior...One night Robotnick showed his true colors and attacked your parents in their sleep, and while Amideus held Robotnick off, Rosemary made off with you. Your father tried to get away with your brother...but Robotnick killed Amideus and took your brother...then he went after your mother and the other part of the experiment...but that was where Rosemary left you to me, I took you where I thought you'd be safe...with Sonic..."

Tails didn't want to believe it but Espio never lied to him before, "Then what is this all about?" Tails asked pointing to the box.

"Nox obviously wanted to send his twin a gift...it came with this." Espio said tossing Tails a small envelope.

"Miles...do us and Kara a favor and don't do anything stupid...you saw how powerful he was on that ship."

"So that him huh? Why did he try to kill me?"

"I'm afraid I don't quite know..." Espio answered, "...it's possible that it has something to do with the fact that you made it away while he was in the hands of that madman all those years."

Tails couldn't stop staring at the envelope in his paw, "I have to go...I...I have a lot to think about..."

Tails didn't bother using his gear to get home, instead he did his thinking while he walked. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard...he had a brother all these years, and never once knew him. As he walked he opened the envelope, a visual disk, what was on it...did he even want to know? What would happen to everyone if he just ignored it all? Robotnick was dead, he posed no more threat...Vyce was dead as well. Would Nox actually be so obsessed with him that he would hunt him down? Only the test of time could really tell...but being engaged to Kara could he really risk it? It had already been demonstrated that she was a target now, and if Nox knew she would most likely be his first target. As soon as the though of her being in danger again hit him he leaped onto his gear and sped home...His heart settled when he burst through the front door only to find Kara waiting for him, wearing the unbelievably revealing top that Sally had given her. She was quick to rush into his arms and lock the door behind him...

"The hell's gotten into you?" Tails asked smiling as she broke a sudden kiss.

"Nothing..."

Tails pulled her close to him, "Is sex the only thing on your mind?" He asked with a smile.

Kara smiled back, "It is right now...well you're in there too..." She said kissing him again, "...so you find out what they wanted to tell you?"

"Yeah...it wasn't really worth repeating though."

Kara backed away from him, "Well then...it seems to me that I have you all to myself today..."

"Just don't pull on my tails so much...I'm developing a bruise that's making it a bit hard to sit down."

"Hey...you've bitten me..."

"Hmm...ditto. So lets just agree no pulling, and no biting." Tails siad.

Kara sauntered back into his arm, "But there are some parts of you I like pulling on." She said snaking her paw into his pants.

"There are parts of me that I like you pulling on too...but my tails aren't on that list."

Kara turned away from him making sure that he could see her ass, "Fine then..." She tried to fake being angry, "...I'm not putting out then."

Kara shrieked out of surprise as Tails pulled her back to him by her tail and lifted her into his arms bridal style...

"OH yes you are...you started this you get to finish it...as you've so elegantly put before."

He headed for their room while Kara was laughing, "Why are we going up there?"

"Cause I'm going to bed early and I'm not getting back up until tomorrow..."

She giggled a bit as he stopped by their bedroom door, "I love you Miles.." She said nestling her head into his chest.

"I love you too Kara."

**(000)**

Tails woke up in the late evening, and looked to the exhausted vixen at his side and smiled...growing up he never thought he'd find the kind of love he had for her. He climbed out of the hammock and headed downstairs after getting his jeans back on, which weren't easy to find. His legs and back hurt like hell, that was understandable, he headed to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee then headed into his lab where he'd left the disc Nox had left for him. He was hesitant but ran it into his laptop...A moment later the hooded figure from the ship appeared smiling, then removed his hood; the person was an almost perfect image of Tails, spare for a black streak of fur that led from between his eyes and ran up his forehead...

"Hello Miles...I hope you enjoyed my little gift, with fat boy out of our hair we can settle this thing, just you and me. Our parents paid for using the two of us for their twisted little experiment, so what do you say the two of us finish that experiment. You see Miles, Robotnick started to fear me, locked me in one of those capsules...Unfortunately all that time to myself gave me time to develop my powers, then I escaped, after finding out what the last part of 'Project Silver Fox' was. You see they needed to know which of us was the stronger one...Modius Desert, two weeks...if you aren't there I pay a visit to that girlfriend of yours...and I'll show her some of my finer qualities; then Sally, Rouge, that cute little hedgehog girl, the rabbit...they'll all learn a lot about my romantic side...Ya got two weeks to think about it..."

**(000)**

A week passed by and everyone could see it; Tails had become obsessed with his training with Espio, as well as training hie Technopathy. Espio didn't know what to think, Tails's skills were increasing at an incredibly rapid rate, so rapid that at times he seemed to be teaching himself. His nights were still spent with Kara, who made attempt after attempt to pry what was bothering him from his mind but, he didn't budge. He had gone to the desert several times pacing out the entire area so he could get a feel for what Nox might have had in mind, over the passing days Tails was constantly exhausted...he wouldn't give himself a moment of rest, and what time he did get for rest he spent with Kara. She had become incredibly worried about him but, he always seemed to have some way to put her mind at rest.

Finally 13 days had passed...by the next morning either he'd be dead, or his friends would be safe...and better yet Kara would never be put in danger again. Tails had taken the last day to rest and today would be no different...he needed his rest but to Kara's great displeasure he spent his time in his lab where she seldom went...but, now had to be an exception, there was something wrong with him and she needed to know that he was going to be okay...

She pushed the door open and walked down the stairs, "Miles?"

"Yeah Kara..." His voice seemed kind of worried.

"Is it alright if I come down?"

"You're welcome wherever I am Kara."

She smiled and walked the rest of the way down where she found him working on his gear...

"Are you okay?" Kara asked sitting beside him on an unused bench.

"Yeah...I've just been thinking a lot lately." He replied stretching his neck.

"You're not fooling me Miles...you're about to fight someone aren't you?"

"No..." Tails replied, "...no more fighting..."

Kara rest her head on his shoulder, "I really wish you wouldn't lie to me like that...but you must have a reason for it."

Tails chuckled, "Scary...I haven't even known you that long...but, you already know me as well as Sally dose."

"If you want to get technical...I know you a bit better than she does..." She said playing with his ear a bit.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I just have one last thing to take care of...then this all stops...and we get that vacation I promised you." He said setting down his gear and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"When are you leaving?" She asked.

"Tonight..."

"Is anyone else going?"

"No...I don't want anyone else to know...this is between me and him that's it."

The two spent the day together going over their plans for the vacation that Tails had spoken of so often, Kara had found something about a resort called Paradise Island somewhere far to the south. Tails set up their arrangements and before long it was getting late. Tails had taken Kara to the patio to so that they could watch the sunset, it would still be hours before he left but, he wanted every moment to be with her, just in case he didn't come back. After they had spent the entirety of the day together...it was time for Tails to leave, he didn't want to go but he had to...As he approached the door he turned when he heard footsteps only to be driven into the door by Kara who engaged him in an incredibly passionate kiss making him drop his gear. He didn't fight anything but rather pulled her closer to him, as the kiss carried on Tails realized that some time was passing and even though he didn't want to let her go, he was forced to break her hold on him...but he found that his own grip on her only tightened...

He rested his head on hers, "I love you Kara..."

"Yeah I know..." She said pulling away from him, "...I guess you've gotta go huh?"


	17. The Showdown

**Chapter XVII****:** The Showdown

Tails picked up his gear and headed out the door after kissing Kara good-bye, his trip would take about an hour, but he'd make it there before sun up. The scenery changed from the city, to the forest, finally to the desert. The spot he found was littered with large rocks and boulders, where the same cloaked figure was sitting on a large stone at a set of rocks that were put together like a table...

"You're early...why not have a seat?"

Tails sat down and lay Requiem on the larger stone in front of him...

"It's good to finally see you Miles..."

"Don't...don't you dare try to make this pleasant...you threatened Kara..." Tails said giving Nox a murderous look.

"I see my ploy worked too well...I could assure you, I had no intention of going though with it...it was just to get you here I know you have the same anger problem I have." Nox said.

"Why are you doing this Nox?"

Nox pulled the hood off of his head, "Which of us is the side effect Miles? One of us was never meant to be..."

"Nox...that's insane."

"Sticks and stones Miles...Sticks and stones..."

Tails sighed, "That's not the case...you're hurting innocent people."

"And this is unfair how?" Nox's disposition seemed to be growing more erratic by the moment, "Should I be the only to suffer? You have no idea what it's like to go though your entire life as nothing...no more than an enigmatic shell of what you should be...I already know the answer Miles...your strength was never meant to be, your entire existence is no more than a byproduct of what ill conceived freak show created me. You're the true nothing here..."

Miles laughed, he'd never heard anything so stupid in all his life...but Espio did explain to him that he was never meant to have the twin that was created by the experiment, "So this was your only point in bringing me out here?...to try and kill me so you can prove that you're stronger than me...I gotta hand it to ya that's...no less than the most absolutely moronic thing I have ever heard. Even if you could beat me in a fair fight, it won't prove a thing...all the end of the fight would prove is that you're dead and I'm not."

This time Nox laughed, "So cocky..." He said pulling a rather large revolver from beneath his cloak and laying it on the large stone before them.

Tails could already see it in Nox's eyes, in his mind the fight had already started, in an instant hundreds of scenarios rushed though Tails's mind. He could see the outcomes as well but...only one clung to the back of his mind...If I loose, what happens to Kara? However his thoughts were cut short, Nox had hoped to catch Tails unaware but, in unison the two kicked off the stone with their weapons in hand. As the two both landed from their jump Tails let off several rounds from Requiem, he decided that his best chances of beating Nox was to wear out whatever ability had blocked his shot back on the ship. All four rounds were stopped in place and fell to the sand, but as Nox lifted the cannon in his left paw Tails switched Requiem into single shot and fired. The bullet's course was as clean as any Tails had ever fired tearing through the barrel of his estranged brother's gun forcing it from his hands. Unfortunately Nox smiled as he dropped the cloak that hid his body from Tails's veiw, the black leather vest beneath housed six individual holsters each holding one of the large revolvers, not to mention the two pistols on his hips, and whatever other weapons he may have been hiding. With a lightning like motion two of the weapons left their holsters, their shots sounded off like explosions of a higher degree than Tails had ever heard come from any kind of handgun...though the shot from the right gun missed altogether but, the shot from the left seemed to sere the fur from the side of Tails's face...at the feeling of the bullet grazing his face Tails dove behind a nearby boulder...

Tails sat with his back against his massive stone shield listening for Nox...there was nothing, not a single footstep, the attack seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once; the sand beneath Tails's feet began to pick up and swirl about him blocking everything from his sight, suddenly something shot through the strange sandstorm slicing into Tails's arms and legs repeatedly, until he caught the sight of one of the supposed blades...they were tiny stones moving at incredible speeds, Tails finally dove though the sand wall the swirling particles of sand tore small cuts into the flesh beneath his fur...

As soon as Tails was free he looked to his brother's laughing figure, "You can't hide from me Miles...I'm nothing like those other fools you've fought."

By this time Tails was hidden behind another boulder, but the small sandstorm followed forcing him to seek shelter elsewhere; finally fed up with all of this Tails leaped from his cover swinging Requiem towards Nox's location. As soon as Tails aimed his weapon his gaze was met with that of his brother standing in the distance. He lost control of his own arms, he tried to fight it but, Requiem's barrel found it's way shakily under his chin...he could feel his muscles and tried everything to force the weapon away from his chin...just as his finger pulled the trigger Tails managed to pull his head to the side breaking his gaze with Nox's. He instantly snapped his weapon back towards Nox only to realize that the fox was no longer standing there. Black clouds began to form overhead casting an almost chilling shadow over the land as it's mass blocked out the sun...there were no sounds until the rain began to fall, but no matter what, even though the sound of the rain drumming against the sand and stone he couldn't find Nox anywhere...Did he run? Suddenly a set of footsteps rushed on him forcing him to turn his weapon on whoever it was, he nearly collapsed when he saw the vixen that rushed onto him...

"Kara what the fuck are you doing here?!"He shouted in a harsh tone.

"I couldn't let you come out here and get yourself hurt again or killed. I love you Miles...let's just go home." She pleaded hugging him.

She was real, he could feel...but something wasn't right,"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Tails yelled pushing her away, "You are not Kara...PRETTY FUCKING CHEAP TRICK NOX!! ARE YOU THAT AFRAID OF ME?!"

Kara stood up with an insidious smile on her face as the rain seemed to wash her clothing away like wet paint, "What's the matter Miles? Don't you love me anymore?...don't you want me?"

"You are NOT kARA!!"

The vixen before him quickly melted away into the body of Nox who wore the same insane smirk, "How do you like your graveyard Miles?" He asked stepping forward with his arms outstretched.

Tails lifted Requiem to take aim only to realize he wasn't holding anything, which ushered Nox into a maniacle laugh, "What's so funny?" Tails demanded.

"You...You're so pathetically slow. You thing you're still standing there, holding a weapon...brother we never left that rock, we're still sitting there...what you see now is what I wish you to see. Our minds are merged right now...leveled playing field you might say."

Tails wasn't sure weather or not to believe Nox or not, but, there had to be a reason that Nox was able pull off the little show he just did. As Tails watched Nox, his brother rose his arms toward the sky; the ground began to shake furiously causing Tails to loose his balance, all around the two a massive construct of stone rose from beneath the sand, it was some sort of ancient battle arena, and as he looked on further two swords seemed to fall from the sky landing before the two...

Nox pulled his weapon from the sand and stone, "Nothing special...just you and me, no powers, no guns..."

"Right..." Tails said pulling his sword and studying it, "...fair fight? Then why are we fighting inside our heads?"

"Incentive you could say..." Nox said shrugging his shoulders, "...you see in a few hours it'll be noon...120 plus degrees in the desert...by noon that'll give you what, 10 maybe 20 minutes before we both die?"

"Good then lets get this over with..." Tails replied readying himself.

"I couldn't agree more."

**(000)**

The two clashed time and time again somehow managing to steer clear of the lethal blade the other held. Several times they managed a nick here or there but, so far no attack seemed to turn the tides and Nox had so far not gone back on his word of keeping powers out of this. Unfortunately Tails had earlier realized that there was more depth to this fight than he had at first thought...his cuts were truly bleeding and he could feel himself getting weaker the more he swung his weapon. As the time passed the two broke away from one another neither of them could tell how long they had been fighting but they could feel the strain of the desert heat on their bodies...after another clash of arms Tails stood studying his opponent; he was winded, his muscles screamed for the mercy of him releasing the weapon, and the heat was nearly unbearable. It wasn't long before Tails's sight began to blur, he was never very accustomed to the heat. Nox seemed to have little trouble adjusting to the heat however...his attacks came just as swift and fierce as before. A long series of attacks toppled Tails to the ground. Tails managed to get to his shaky knees the only things holding him upright at the moment his sword and his own willpower. His gaze was locked on the golden sand that was below him, it was wet with blood that still pooled from a wound he dared not take the time to inspect. He tried his hardest to block the next shot but, his strength was spent, and as his guard fell Nox's knee was driven with a tooth-shattering force into Tails's chin...the defenseless vulpine slid, bounced, and rolled across the sand finally stopping several feet away...

It wasn't until Nox approached his battered other that the blood from a wound on his forehead dripped into his eye half blinding him, he laughed out loud as he wiped the blood away, "I'll have too admit that was a good shot...I never even saw the strike. Looked like your guard had failed. You were just luring me in weren't you?"

Tails almost made it back to his feet before collapsing to the hot sand beneath him, "...but then again you really should have put up a better fight..." Nox said stabbing his sword into the ground so he could better clean the blood from his eye.

Tails struggled to his feet, but his knees gave in and he fell to the ground again...

"You're persistence however is really piSSING ME OFF!!" His voice escellated into a scream as he dashed forward driving his foot into Tails's ribs, leaving both swords where they sat.

Nox slicked back the fur between his ears as he approached Tails who coughed up a large splotch of blood, "You know...I think I've changed my mind about something..."He said picking tails up by the collar of his shirt, "Now that you have really pissed me off...after I'm done with you..." He smiled, "Me and your little bitch...are gonna have one hell of a time." He said slamming a fist into Tails's gut causing blood to fly from his mouth covering Nox's face, "Then I'm gonna make that bitch watch me teat the heart from her chest."

As he heard these words Tails could feel something building up inside of him, to end his life was one thing but to bring in the life of the one he loved was going far over the line. A tear rolled down Tails's face and his breathing began to grow more and more rapid until his body went entirely limp. Nox studied him for a moment...

"Humph...heat finally got to him."

The attack came so fast that he didn't even see it coming, as Tails's foot struck him in the chin with a force he'd never imagined, the impact instantly broke his jaw as he was sent spiraling away bounding across the scoarching sand in the same manner Tails had. Nox stood with a shocked look on his face, his obviously dislocated jawbone dangling open lifelessly. Nox worked the jaw back and forth forcing it to snap into place...

"Miles Miles Miles..." He laughed as he looked to the enraged vulpine, "...I had never guessed you were capable of this."

Tails didn't answer, his eyes were the deep red of blood, the snarl on his face was the bitter glare of death. Something had snapped. Tails waited for nothing darting toward Nox with renewed strength and vigor, Nox was amazed every punch felt as if they were shattering bone and tearing flesh, and every kick seemed to dig into his spirit like a thousand daggers. After a rather rough exchange of attacks Nox was forced to back away to buy himself time to recover; his left eye was swollen shut, his nose was doubtlessly broken, there was a massive amount of blood gushing from a wound atop his head from a rather powerful axe kick, and he wasn't sure but could have sworn his right hand's knuckles were broken. The battered vulpine looked onto his so called brother with a new respect, or was it fear? He somehow managed to stand up after the brutality he'd undergone. Tails rushed in again but, this time his chest was met by a brutally powerful spinning back kick that sent him flying through the air, coming to a rest several feet away on his back. To Nox's surprise the vulpine kicked back up and onto his feet...Tails rushed his brother again, but to Nox's unfortunate luck Tails leaped into the air and upon his decent drove his feet into Nox's knees how let out a horrible scream as his knees inverted in their sockets. As Nox fell forward Tails rocked back onto his shoulder to kick back onto his feet, this time however instead of the ground his feet slammed into Nox's face forcing his body to retreat in the opposite direction and as he landed on his back the crushing blow of Tails's weight landed on his chest...

Nox soon found his neck in an unusually powerful grip as Tails hoisted him into the air, "You should have left her out of this..." Tails's voice finally came. Nox hadn't noticed until now but, Tails had been crying the whole time after he'd threatened Kara.

Nox coughed up a large amount of blood that ran down his chest, "I-I..._cough..._get it...now. Fa-father...he was right...strength has...has nothing to...do with power."

Tails dropped Nox where he was, "Y-you've got...to end it..."

"No...just leave...leave me and Kara alone. Go home, to hell, anywhere...just go there and leave my life the way it is."

Nox coughed up another spot of blood, "A-after all I-I've done...W-w-why?"

"Despite the fact that you threatened the vixen I love...you are my brother like it or not...neither of us is superior in any way. I just have more to fight for than you do." Tails replied, "Now let me out of this place...or will you kill us both?"

"No...you can go...but you'll never make it out of the dester in time...you'll die before you ever make it home."

"If that's how it has to be..."

Before Tails could realize it he was sitting at the seat he'd started in; he'd never even drawn his weapons but, as he attempted to stand he could feel every injury he'd sustained during the fight. He limped to his gear...it was full of sand, useless...but his determination was still there, as he slowly began to work his way across the blistering desert. He could see Kara so clearly in the distance; she'd come after him. He tried his hardest to rush to her but his battered body wouldn't allow it. As he watched she smiled but, turned and began to run in the other direction, he tried to call her but the heat had robbed him of his voice as well as his sanity...he didn't even have the strength to realize that it had been a mirage. As he finally made it to the edge of the desert his body gave out and he collapsed to the ground. His life began to flash before his eyes as he could feel the cold darkness creep over him, had he realized that it was the icy embrace of death he would have fought it, but anything to get away from the heat, his world finally fell into a bitter chill of darkness...

**(000)**

Kara wasn't sure where he was but she knew she had to find Tails, she loved him far too much to let him go off and die. Her gear sped across the land, the rushing wind tearing the tears from her face...the sheer thought of finding her love dead made the tears burn the corners of her eyes. Dark clouds began to form overhead as she approached the edge of the forest, she knew he had headed toward the desert...and as she sped out of the woods something caught her eye. Something that stood out of the shadow from the clouds overhead, "MILES!!" She screamed as she saw the battered and bleeding vulpine face down in the sand, his arms sprawled out as if he'd been trying to crawl his way into the woods. She pulled her gear to a stop and rushed to his side, his body was horribly overheated and as far as she could tell he was no longer breathing...

"Miles...?" She called shaking the limp fox, "Miles...please...please wake up..."

Unable to handle the sight of his death, Kara broke down into deep sobs against the fox's chest...he swore he'd come back, that they'd get away from everything, get married...but...but now, there could be none of that. She'd be forced to go on knowing she'd never hear his voice or feel his touch again. The thoughts and memories of their times together only forced her cries to grow stronger as the heavens began to share the grief of her loss, the rains seemingly coming from nowhere. She closed her eyes tight against his chest, praying and hoping that somehow he'd wake up and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that he loved her, anything as long as it was his voice, she didn't care. For a moment she could have sworn he'd moved but, there was nothing, her mind was hysterical, he was dead. As she held him close she heard something...it was faint but, it grew...it was a heartbeat. She refused to open her eyes as she feared that it was all in her mind but, then she felt a hand on the side of her face...

"Hey...what's with...the tears?"

Kara looked away from his chest to see a bloody smile, she was still crying when she threw her arms around his neck knocking him into the muddy ground again. Her sobs left but the tears stayed; neither of them said a word they just held each other, having the comfort of knowing that they were both alive. With her help they two made their way toward their home never for a moment leaving each other's arms. As they walked home Tails smiled, he'd found his meaning in life...and he'd never leaver her side again...

**(Now then if I do make a part two if would be along shortly...Tails is my favorite Sonic character if you haven't noticed so chances are pretty high that I'll write part 2. On a lighter note: "I thank all of the readers of this fic for your support to the end...keep reading." _SkullFox...HA!!_)**


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